Kilter
by SlashyJazz
Summary: Rick's unlikely savior doesn't come in the form of Morgan, instead it comes in the body of a slightly spastic green eyed man, who had a love for fandom and who was apparently hitched to a man named Daryl. AU, Slash HP/DD
1. Chapter 1

**A/n** : This will have slash, and will only follow The Walking Dead canon episodes until I feel like screwing with stuff. Fyi, I'm so nervous posting this like wtf.

 **Warnings** : Mentions of mpreg, ooc-ness in characters.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead.**

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" _ **Don't Open. Dead Inside"**_

 _ **-Person who wrote that inspiring warning.**_

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 _Chapter One_

Rick stared at the dead flowers on his bedside table in fascination and slight horror. Shock was mingled in with the other two emotions as he rubbed his fingers over the dry petals. What in the seven hells was going on? His blue eyes shifted to the plain clock that was hung up upon the wall of his room noting that it had stopped probably due to dead batteries.

"Shane?... Lori?" his voice was rough and gravelly and his throat hurt something fierce and awful.

Rick coughed, his eyes closing as pain ran through his chest from every expelled breath. He looked down at the white bandages that crossed his chest and remembered that he was shot on the job by one of the criminals. Shane had been repeating a mantra of "Shh" and "You're gonna be okay" but that was…

How long ago was it?

The next memory that he had was of Shane once again when he had brought him the flowers which now sat on the table beside his hospital bed. Shane was rambling on about the guys at the station pitching in to buy him them and the fancy girly vase and something about a woman picking it out-

"Ugh…" he groaned.

The officer grunted as he tried to get on his side. Something wasn't right. The hospital was quiet. Too quiet for a hospital anyway. It seemed almost dead. Empty.

A hospital that was the _only_ hospital in the county wasn't devoid of life nor was it simply going to shut down. The silence bothered him greatly having being surrounded by some form of noise in his whole thirty something years of life either by guns at the training academy, the cars motors when chasing criminals or his sons-

"Carl!" Rick bolted upright only to gasp, his arms quickly circling around his middle and shoulder when a static shock of pain raced through his body, worse than the cough escapade. Rick took deep breathes ignoring how much it hurt to do so until the intense pain dissolved into slight and ignorable pangs.

The deputy stumbled to his feet and immediately grabbed onto the side table as the world shifted and twisted on its axis. He swallowed down bile that threatened to rise up from his empty stomach and took several more deep breaths to steady himself and his beating heart as well as his churning belly.

"Fuck" he muttered to himself, his rough hands pulling the sticky things from his chest making the heart monitor machine let out a piercing incessant beep.

The other sticky attachments came off soon after the first and then the IV needle next. Rick winced and clenched his jaw when the small puncture wound began to bleed. Why they needed to place that thing in him he didn't know nor cared because it was never going in again he swore as it was dropped to the tiled floor with a small ' _plink'._

The first thing that he would do after he got out of the hospital was to find his son and Lori and hopefully Shane. He limped over to the door and pushed it, the door opening slowly with a slight creak.

"Wha…" his blue eyes took in the train wreck that was a hospital, empty bed, papers and wheel-chairs were scattered about the deserted hallway, the ceiling lights were dim or not on at all casting the hallway in a gloom.

"Hello?" he called out stumbling over a book.

What was going on? Where was everyone? Ricked peaked into the waiting area of section two and nearly gagged. The lights were on in that area, though he wished they weren't as they showed him the disemboweled body of what was Nurse Amber. She was the one who more often than not took Carl to see his family doctor when he came for check-ups. It looked as if something had eaten through her flesh and bones seeing as how only her head remained untouched it was a slow and painful death. He stared into her dead grey eyes unable to turn away from the young woman who was always so cheerful in such a place where death was the norm.

He jumped when he heard familiar sound of rattling chains caught his attention. In block letters painted in black were the words ' _ **DON'T OPEN. DEAD INSIDE'**_ Rick stumbled towards the door and reached out to it only to pull his hand back when a white as chalk hand pushed it way through the tiny space of the door. Fingernails that obviously belonged to a woman felt the sides of the door that was locked with two heavy chains and a piece of wood. He glanced back at the sign and then at the hands, wondering if this some sort of sick joke.

"H-Hello?" he reached for the hand and suddenly found himself being pulled backwards. Rick yelped when he fell back onto a body that was smaller than his. With a sudden lurch he jumped from the warm body and regretted it the next instance when a hot flare of pain ran through his body. Cold sweat gathered on his brow and his hands twitched at the sudden pain. His breaths came out in pants and his lungs stubbornly refused to take in the offered oxygen properly. His toes curled in pain and he gripped at his chest. He was not having a heart attack he reassured himself. During his slight panic attack he failed to notice the cause of his attack kneeling besides him.

"Hey are you okay? God I'm sorry about scaring you like that it's just that if you placed your hand in there you wouldn't get it back" Rick looked up at the only person he had contact with since he woke up. The man was a brunet with black hair that came down to his neck, small build, and only a few inches or so shorter than Rick himself. Slightly tanned skin was smudged with dirt and dots of blood and the black shirt as torn in several places; a barely noticeable accent was under the Southern drawl.

"Who are you?" he voice was rough and his cracked lips stung.

The younger man blinked the green emeralds at the question before a small smile curved at chapped lips.

"Harry… Harry Black. The doctor that was in charge of your health and the only living soul besides yourself in this Hospital" Harry declared to the shocked man.

"The- the only… What are you talking about?!" Ricked demanded and leaped back on shaky limbs from the now grim man. Harry shook his head and pointed at the chained door behind him, his hands, smaller than Rick's own shouldered off a backpack and the Deputy went on his guard despite not having anything to defend himself with in-case the stranger pulled out a weapon. Harry raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head mumbling something about him being harmless. A flashlight was waved at Rick's face and the bright light was spotted into the space between the locked doors.

"Watch" Rick stepped to the side and indeed watched, keeping an eye on the other male. The moment the light was potted between the slight crack of the open the Rick stared in horror at the pale and twisted forms that were shown by the ring of light. Blood dribbled from their lips and the skin was tightly clinging to their emaciated bodies. Anguished noises came from the other side of the door and Rick once again felt sick.

"You see, what would've happened if you had placed your hand in there?" Harry asked and pointed at the door that was pressing against the chains as whatever it was that was inside banged against it causing them to creak. Rick leaned on the wall, his blue eyes wide and pupils blown.

What was going on?

"Apocalypse" apparently he had voiced his thoughts.

Harry had the heart to look sympathetic, knowing that while the man was in the coma he didn't know jack about what was happening in the outside world.

"Zombie Apocalypse" he stated again and waited for the man to respond. Rick stared at Harry, his eyes even wider and his chest barely moving as he breathed.

"You're…you're fucking with me right?" Rick's voice wavered and he rubbed at his eyes feeling the wetness beneath his fingers. If what Harry had said was true was his little boy still… was Carl still…

Was Carl still alive?

"Common. Up you go"

Rick looked at Harry, his eyes dazed as he stared up at the younger man. Rick found himself being pulled up from the cold tiles of the hospital floor gently not even knowing that he had been sitting there in the first place. Harry wrapped his arms around the sheriffs' waist and tugged him up into a standing position. He idly noticed himself moving along with the stranger who grabbed his bag from the floor and began the slow and slightly painful trek down the ruined hospital hall. Broken bodies were scattered along the hallway and every three doors or so he would see chains and board along the doors accompanied by the horrible groans and moans of the walking dead.

"Take one step at a time okay? The last thing you want is an open wound in this sorta atmosphere"

Rick managed a dry chuckle that sounded more of a cough than anything else. His eyes looked down on the blood splattered steps, each and every-one from the top of the staircase to the bottom at the back exit of the hospital with littered with it in either drops or small pools.

"You may want to prepare yourself for the world now officer, it ain't what it used to be" Harry warned.

Harry pushed and the metal door opened with a loud creak. Rick could only stare at the devastation that surrounded him. In the car park that was devoid of cars laid possibly close to a hundred bodies wrapped in sheets. The sheets were soaked in places with red and Rick knew it was blood. The air was foul and stale and the once beautiful town now seemed so…dead.

"It's horrible ain't it? Two hundred and twenty-seven bodies of children, women and men. Not enough manpower to bury them and not enough time to do even if you did."

"You counted them…" Rick already knew the answer.

Rick's mouth felt dry. Maybe it was because he hadn't had anything to drink in the last two days or so but he knew that it was so because of his fear for his little boy. Yes he cared about Lori too but Carl was his world. His everything. If he died…he didn't know how he would live in this sudden and literally bleak world.

Rick stumbled and was only held up by Harry's comforting hand, a hand that he now noticed had a gold band around the ring finger. It looked a bit battered by time, enough so that it seemed as if the man had been married a good handful of years already.

"You're married" it wasn't a question and Harry smiled at him, indulging him a bit by nodding.

"Yepp, for about eight years now" he grinned a bit sheepish as they continued to trek along the abandoned streets of a deserted neighborhood. Rick nodded and it was only then that he realized where he was being taken. If this was a normal apocalypse free-day, he would've admired the house, would've thought about how much Lori would have gushed about the paint job and the spacious front garden. About the interior and the kitchen. But at the moment all Rick noticed about the place was that he had walls, doors, sealed windows and a huge bed on the bottom floor with working bathroom.

"I'm married as well, over about fifteen years or so and I have a son. His name is Carl, he's about eleven… maybe twelve now…"

That was where he stayed with Harry for over two months as he tried to recover from his stint in the coma. It allowed his wound to heal fully and for him to gain back all the proper motor skills he had been lacking when he awoke in the hospital bed and tripped over his own two feet every minute and a half. Harry took care of him, saying that while he was no longer getting paid for it, it was the least he could do to make sure another human was alive since they were so outnumbered already by the dead.

Rick discovered in his albeit short amount of time with the man that while Harry by all rights and reason could have left him for dead the moment he found him awake and kicking was that the man naturally craved human contact. Not in such a way that it would be weird, but gestures and pats on the shoulder seemed to make the man almost vibrate with energy. He didn't find it so surprising though, in a world where the only human contact anyone would receive outside of the shelter would be a dead person making a full course meal out of their bodies.

So Rick gave as good as he got, appreciation that the man hadn't left him to heal on his own in a shady place with shoddy bandages and medicine. Instead he had been catered to until he could sit up without grimacing in pain, could move without holding onto walls for supports and could eat solids without throwing everything up.

He also learned that Harry was a chatter-box, though he was a bit subdued at certain times. That he hated ranch dressing and preferred to eat any salad he consumed dry or with just a 'itty bitty' bit of vinaigrette. That he was obsessed with the television show _Supernatural_ before the world went to shit and how he was convinced that Dean or Castiel were made for each other. How he found larger dogs ideal compared those 'tiny furry demons' and how much he loved a certain Daryl and that the world could suck it. How he loved cheesecake and eggnog to the point of orgasm and how he used to ship so many fandoms from tv shows like _Teen Wolf_ or _The Hobbit_. Hell apparently he even at some point shipped _Harry Potter_ and _Naruto_ … Rick still didn't really get the concept of anime or of witches and wizard and freaking werewolves, but he figured Carl knew a lot more about it that he ever would.

In all, he came to the quick realization that Harry had moments where he was an overgrown kid hyper off of oxygen and stale soda and others where he put on his adult face and did adult shit. Harry's words, not his own.

In that month of recovery Harry had told him as much as he knew about the zombie infestation. Apparently rumors were that it begun at a CDC, the virus was supposed to be a typical weapon against other countries. Like Ebola or Influenza. It was supposed to be easy to maintain, contain and control but unlike other devastating viruses and diseases that were created the Z-virus, as Harry had taken to calling it, wasn't as docile as the scientists had thought. The test patients had gone rabid and taken it upon themselves to bite and eat said scientists. It was a bit too late before anyone outside of the CDC building realised what was happening. By then the small problem that had been contained inside of a test tube previously made it's way into human host one by one.

"Or at least that's what I've heard anyway. Before the doctors abandoned ship back at the hospital and the virus made its way over here to Cynthiana, Kentucky there was a doc here, a nice lady who knew what she was doing and she had connections with the heads of the board who told her some stuff that they shouldn't have."

Rick had just nodded numbly.

He had learned that the most effective ways to kill the 'walkers' were to either shoot them in the head or stick something nice and pointy through the skulls and damage the brain, and while he favored his gun, Harry always gave him the stick eye when he pulled it out.

Despite wanting to find his son so badly that it was a pulsing ache in his chest at times, Rick understood why Harry was a bit reluctant to venture beyond where they had been staying. The neighborhood alone had it's fair of walkers, from men to children. If they went to the city then only God himself knew how many dead there would be. So he gave Harry another few weeks to pull himself together, he owed the man that much for staying with him during the time he was unconscious at the hospital and then during his recovery.

While 'zombies' weren't the first unusual and downright weirdly terrifying thing that had happened before he didn't want to compare the Z-virus to what had happened several years ago, almost two decades previous if he had to be exact. Rick himself had only been about nineteen or so when the US government released a formal announcement that in the last few decades there have been incidents where men had been discovered to be able to carry, and that the genes, the genetic code had no discriminations of colour and race, that every born male child could have the potential to carry if the gene was awakened.

He had remembered seeing images on the tv of boys his age with protruding bellies with a bit of happy trail still going down under their navels, their breast area filled out just a bit that it was noticeable and their bodies under strain. The government had not said what happened to those boys and men but Rick wasn't stupid then and he sure as hell was foolish now. He knew exactly what happened to those males who turned up pregnant. They went missing and then dead, because honestly what did anyone expect from a society that was based on death and blood and fear of ignorance? If back then the very thought of sitting next to a black person had people screaming with hate, imagine what would happened to a man who had sex with another man and suddenly had a bun in the oven. If blacks were lynched because of their colour, and gays were persecuted and made freaks by their friends and families, then pregnant men surely suffered a fate double and magnified. Rick knew without a doubt that all of the info the government had on the men was due to observation, which led to and came from experimentation.

The only reason the government had deemed it necessary for the people to know was because one of the men who had escaped the holding cells had his baby under the radar and raised it without anyone knowing. The kid, then grown found his father's journal, confessions of the horrible things done to him and other men, sometimes boys no older than twelve. Of how it was all covered up and the address of where it all happened.

The outrage of the discovery of such a place, mostly from the parents and family from the missing men and boys and human rights activists caused the government to make the announcement and place a bill in place that the men and boys who became pregnant or were discovered to have the gene were protected by the law. Added to the fact that the government was sued by the families whose members names were written down in the journal. Rick remembered his father dragging him outside to the back of the house and holding a gun to his head, threatening him that if he ever became a _fag_ , then he would put him down before he produced an abomination. So from then on, he had made it his mission to date as many girls as he could in plain view, letting his old man catch him in the act a couple of times and want not. As a man almost well into his forties now Rick had never liked another man beyond brotherly affection. Never thought of doing the act or touch of a man beyond bromance, but he didn't discriminate either.

That was how he came to the conclusion that Harry is savior was indeed one of those men who were horrible nicknamed 'bitch-boys', when he found the man throwing up for what seemed like the millionth time in however many weeks.

It was either that or the way he rubbing at tell-tale curve of his once flat stomach.

"Uhhh… " Rick could only stare in shock but when Harry flushed the toilet and struggled to get up he snapped out of it.

"You're still the same Harry who cracks dirty and corny jokes and who took care of me when I needed help. I'm not an asshole who discriminates against others just for the fucking jollies"

It was Harry's turn to stare at him in shock as Rick led him to the bedroom they shared with separate beds. He deposited Harry on his own mattress and went off to get the younger man a glass of water and dry crackers. He played in this rodeo before with Lori, nothing was different, only in gender. When he came back up to the bedroom he found his friend, because yes, they were friends now, - propped up against a small mountain of pillows and his eyes closed.

His hand was rubbing at the bump again and when Rick stepped inside he opened the green hues again, a sheepish smile playing on his lips.

"Y'know I'm really glad you aren't an asshole because then I would've had to give you the whole Maury Talk and convince you that no you are not the father"

Rick tried to contain his laughter but failed when Harry nudged him with his foot, because honestly, pregnant or not the man before him was a complete and utter nut.

 **A/n:** So what do you guys think?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n:** You people are like super rainbows or something. Seriously, if there was an apocalypse we would be a team until I pull a Negan and get a bat called 'Luther' because let's be honest Idris Elba? Daamn~ Apologies for any mistakes to be found and enjoy the chapter my lovely dumplings~

 **Warnings:** A general lack of Daryl.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **Wayne Dunlap. He had $28 in his pocket when he died And a picture of a pretty girl."**

 **-Zombie who gave his guts to save them.**

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 _Chapter Two_

They always said that love had no boundaries, that it was everlasting and always true. However truthful those words were, Rick decided that if he was ever placed into a situation such as the one he was witnessing he would probably chicken out. Because while love had no boundaries, he supposed that even though your wife was made into a walker and was constantly trying to get inside of the house… maybe the boundary had yet to be crossed.

He watched as Morgan struggled to pull the trigger, his finger pressing lightly but never taking the final step. He turned his head away to give the man some privacy. Not to say men couldn't cry but, no man wanted an almost complete stranger to see him shed tears over his zombified wife. He imagined himself in Morgan's position with Lori standing in the streets looking out at their house, dead and cold and not the Lori he fell in love with years ago. Then he imagined just how much pain Morgan must be in, the decision to put the love of his life to final rest and on the other hand the decision to finish murder her from her state of the undead.

Either way, no one came out not feeling like fermented shit.

"I can't do it… Lord I can't do it" he turned to Morgan who pulled the gun back and slipped on the safety just before he slid to the floor. Rick walked slowly towards the man he had known for a few short days, not even a week, and he sat not quite shoulder to shoulder but close enough. He stayed silent as Morgan buried his face in his hands and gave several shuddering breaths, his body shaking and choked sobs coming from his throat.

Looking back towards the door, he listened to the hum of Harry's voice while the man was downstairs telling Duane about apparently 'the awesomeness of anime' and while Rick still didn't know two shits about what the hell the younger man was raving about it seemed to hold the boy's attention when Rick and Morgan both snuck upstairs.

"I should be able… I should be able to ki-kill her, to put her out of her misery. I know I should've done it, that I should've ended it before it even begun but… she's my wife… my sweet beautiful Jenny and I just can't!" the gun clattered loudly against the wooden floors and Rick still stayed silent. This was a man who hadn't be able to properly speak his mind, especially not with his young teenaged son. Moving his hand slowly, he wrapped an arm around Morgan's shoulder and while the body under his hand tensed for a long moment, he didn't pull away.

"Do you-" Rick didn't want to, but the idea of committing the act and yet doing nothing was pulling the apart from the inside.

"No! No… I-I'll… figure something out… I'll find the strength to pull the trigger."

Rick nodded and gave the man a squeeze before retracting his arm. Morgan sniffed and wiped his face on the inside of his flannel shirt as he tried to clear away the evidence that he was crying from no but his son. In Rick's opinion that boy downstairs was a sweet boy and if he wasn't a biased bastard that loved his own son more than life itself, he would've said that Duane was one of the sweetest and well mannered young boys he had ever met.

"You said that you have a wife and a son too right?" they both ignored the slight stutter when the word 'wife' was said and Rick just nodded.

"Yea, my wife's name is Lori and my son's name is Carl. He's just a bit younger than Duane but no where near as quiet and he seemed to be picking up on some slang from school the last time I saw him before well all this bullshit, gunshot wound included."

Morgan snorted and leaned his head back against the wall. "That's kids for you. No matter the age whether it's from the time they're born or when they're grown men and women, as fathers we always want the best for them. Regardless if it's telling them slang is not the definition of 'cool' or to eat their greens because otherwise they will stay short forever"

Rick chuckled and took off his hat, running a hand through his hair. "Yea, the best may not be exactly that and they may never understand until they get kids of their own but it's all we can do huh. Try our best and hope they come out to be more than their old men but still good people" Morgan hummed in affirmation.

"Who knew that keeping them from being mauled on by zombies was going to be part of our mission in life. When I got a son, all I expected was to be keeping him from getting a girl or guy pregnant long enough before he got a well standing job and possibly his own place. I never signed up for this zombie shit" Rick snorted and grinned at Morgan.

"That possibility is still on the table buddy. Just because the world has gone to literal shit doesn't mean hormones are dead and buried as well" Morgan gave him a flat look that just spoke of how much he didn't find that funny. Rick just shrugged and leaned back against the wall and stretched out. The silence was nice, as long as you could ignore the snarling and groans of dead people roaming outside of the house.

 _ **HD**_

"How have you never watched _Supernatural_? Are you a heathen?" Harry hissed and placed his hand on chest as if he was in physical pain. Duane giggled and shook his head.

"No no, but dad never lets me watch stuff like that because he says it'll give me nightmares"

"And is he wrong?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the young teen who played with his fork and then shook his head. Reaching out he laid a hand on Duane's head, the hair growing back from what was previously a low cut.

"It's okay to be scared y'know, of things that you don't know. Of things that frighten you. Because when you gain the strength to fight back and look those mean horrible things in the eye it'll be their turn to be scared of you"

Brown eyes met his green and Duane bit his lip. "How are you so sure?"

Harry leaned forward and laid his chin on his open palm. "Well even though I'm pretty sure Ricky up stairs with your dad thinks I'm Superman reincarnated, and my husband is sorta like Sasuke with the grouchiness and I'm more like Naruto because let's face it, he's fudging brilliant-" Duane hid his face as he laughed and Harry counted that as a win.

"When I was a kid, I didn't have a mom and dad like you had. My parents had died when I was only a baby and the people I got left with, they were mean. Meaner than mean could ever be, and for a very long time I let that fear take over me. To me, they were huge dragons with ugly faces and words that could burn like fire. When they were around I hid and when they weren't I still stayed hidden."

The hand that was on Duane's head slid down to his chin which he lifted higher in the air.

"But then one day, I decided that being scared for all of these years was okay, because I wasn't ready to face the evil dragons, but on that day I was ready. I stood up to them even if my legs were shaking and my heart was hammering in my chest. Even if I wanted to apologize and hide again I didn't didn't. I screamed at them and let out my frustrations and in the end the dragons were too stunned to do anything."

Duane's eyes were wide, even if he was twelve, he still had a childish fascination about him that Harry hoped never left. Innocence that he prayed Morgan had enough sense to protect even if his mother was currently outside and occasionally tried to eat her husband and child. "What happened? What happened after you faced them?"

Harry looked a bit sheepish but grinned like a loon after a moment. "After I told them a piece of my mind, the fattest dragon who had more blubber than five walrus' combined charged at me while the skinny dragon that was his wife screamed and their kid stomped so hard in a tantrum I swore that the house shook. So I ran. I had faced them after all those years of being afraid, but kiddo, you gotta learn to pick you own battles. You can fight with your fears, face off those monsters that haunt you, but when you feel it's too much that you are being outnumbered never feel shame in running away to fight another day okay? It won't make you a coward, it'll only make you a living man. Understand Duane? You are allowed to be afraid, and only you can determine when it's time to let go of that fear. Whether it's ghosts, ghouls or zombies. Even if that fear is your own mum, don't let anyone ever push to do something you aren't ready to do"

Duane's blinked away the tears at the mention of his mom, who had wandered onto the porch and tested the lock only a few hours ago. "B-but I miss her… I miss my mom so much Harry. I want her back"

"Aw sweetheart come here" Duane hopped from his chair quicker than Harry expected he would and into his open arms. Rubbing his back Harry let him cry it out, his wails stifled in Harry's chest. "I won't tell you not to cry, you have to let out all of those pent up feelings or you might explode at the wrong time and wrong place. I know you miss your mum, I miss mines too even though I never got a chance to make memories with her like you did, and Duane baby it's okay. It's okay to miss her and want her back, it's okay to be scared of her when she comes to the door and it's okay to want to do something about it even though you're hesitant and afraid of hurting her"

The boy looked up at Harry, his eyes wet and wide but he didn't try to deny it. Only looked shocked that Harry knew. Harry's gentle smiled coaxed him back down and he nuzzled at the wet spot on the white t-shirt. "Will it 'urt 'er if I do it?" even though his voice was muffled to point of sounding like a slur Harry understood.

"No, it won't. You'll be setting her free and she'll be so grateful for it. You'll be scared and you'll hesitate Duane, but whenever you are ready I know that you will make your mum proud. How is is out there, she may look like your mum, but her spirit has already left. That woman outside isn't the same one who tucked you in and sang to you when you had nightmares sweetheart. It'll be hard to do it, it will be I won't lie, but when you do just know that she'll be so happy and as cliche as it may sound you do know that she'll never leave you. Mums are tough like that. Even if they don't have a body to hold you and touch you and hug you and kiss you, they always linger nearby silently pushing you forward and they always make a home in your heart. Okay kiddo?"

Duane nodded but remained immobile for a few minutes more, his hand wrapped around Harry and his face buried in his chest with Harry's arms wrapped around him, rubbing his back and head. When he pulled away, eyes still red but tears stopped and a shy smile on his face Harry just wiped his face clean before pinching his cheeks. "Go and finish eat you dinner Little-Lee, at least you have good taste in characters even though the characters have no fashion sense whatsoever" Duane grinned, giving Harry a small hug that was returned before he went back to his dinner and Harry continued chatting about the brilliance of Dean Winchester.

Harry had already demolished his own meal by the time Rick and Morgan came back down stairs and Duane had eaten and already knocked himself out with a full belly and a smile on his face. Honestly children were amazing creatures. Sticky, talkative and occasionally gross, but brilliant and treasured creatures even more so now.

While the meal wasn't a five course with expensive candlelight and $500 wine, the baked beans with some baked squirrel meat and water was more than enough. Harry beamed when both men thanked him before and after the meal, even letting out the most polite belches he had ever witnessed in male company. So now after the meal all three of them were sitting around the table with the only light being candles and lamps.

"So, where's the father?" the question startled him and he blinked at Morgan who was eyeing him with a lazy fashion that spoke more protective father than malicious curiosity. Harry grinned down at his bump which was still small but his t-shirts were getting a bit tight around the middle. Morgan continued to eye him with patience that spoke of a thousand angry tantrums simply waited out.

"Ah well… we got separated before all of this happened" he made a vague motion with his hand. "I was at the hospital when he got called out to sign some papers for his brother who was in some trouble and was spending some time in a jail somewhere. Then next thing you know my deceased patients are stumbling out of the morgue and biting everyone in sight. I got a phone call a few minutes before from Daryl saying that he and Merle were fine and that they would meet me in Atlanta if they didn't find me first."

Morgan hummed, though for some reason Harry felt as if the man was satisfied. Tilting his head a bit he peeked at Rick then Morgan.

"What?" Morgan raised an eyebrow from where his head was resting against his palm and Rick was just gazing at him, expression curious as well.

"Why aren't you um… more well difficult about my situation?" Morgan stared at him and his mouth turned downwards into a frown. "Am I supposed to be?"

Harry shook his head, eyes wide and he smiled a bit uneasy. "N-No but people don't exact uh react well to this sort of thing, not to say all people are the same but some that I met were assholes who didn't know jack about shit and always-" "Harry"

Harry blinked, and a light flush covered his neck when he realised he was well on his way to rambling. Morgan was sitting back in the chair, his brown eyes warm and the frown long gone and replaced by an indulgent smile.

"When I was about maybe twenty-two years old, I was already living in an apartment building away from home. My younger brother who was probably sixteen… maybe seventeen at the time shows up at my door with bags full of clothes and other stuff and a big belly full of baby. My father wasn't the most progressive man when it came to situations like these. He was against homophobia and he hated whites like a prayer, so when my brother apparently turned out to be gay at fifteen my father beat him to an inch of his life and then when he was caught fooling around with some uppity white guy from the better parts of the town dad threw him out for good and he went to live with our grandma.

I moved out maybe a year later. Anyway, he shows up at my door crying about how the father of his kid didn't want him anymore and threw him out because he was getting married to a real woman, and couldn't be saddled with a bastard and a black boy. So he had thrown an envelope that had maybe five grand inside and had sent my nine months pregnant baby brother packing. I got him settled in and then asked for the address. I went over there and kicked the shit out of the guy who was my age and had the guts to screw my brother over and then leave him in the cold. About two days later my kid brother goes into labor in the apartment and I honestly never thought I would have been witnessing the gross miracle of birth from close up between my brother's legs."

Morgan closed his eyes and shook his head as if trying to dispel any images in his head while Rick looked vaguely green around the gills. Harry just stared on with wide eyes.

"I still don't understand how certain _parts_ accommodated and _stretched_ and - you are in for a ride son" that sounded much more ominous than it had any right doing.

"Anyway to say that seeing what I saw at that moment erased any thoughts of me turning out to be gay, but bringing life into this world no matter how horrible it may have been and even more so now, it was a gift. You can't be angry or disgusted at God for giving men a chance to help provide said life beyond the in and out and finish. So no, I'm not bothered by something that is supposed to be natural and is ingrained in our genetic code. If Duane comes to be in the same situation as my brother or you, I experienced two up close births enough to know what to do. He's my son just as Andy was my brother and you are my friend"

Harry didn't know why he was crying and he had no answer for it when both older men asked him the same question, but he reassured them they were happy tears and not crazy pregnancy tears. He laughed aloud when both Morgan and Rick looked too relieved for it to be casual.

 _ **HD**_

He wasn't happy with how things were going. While they stayed with the Jones for a bit short of two weeks, they had raided the police station for warm baths, a bit of food and two bags of weaponry, but he felt as unsteady has Harry who voiced his concerns when Morgan still hadn't place a bullet between his dead wife's head. They had split up for over three days now, a walkie-talkie between them and promises to be safe.

Three days later and an empty gas tank made them stop close to a nearby old house and he deftly ignored the smug but unamused look that was plastered over Harry's face. The man had practically demanded the tank full of gas be brought along when they had gone to retrieve the car, but Rick had complained about not needing it and it seemed as if he was wrong. Stepping out of the car the heat hit both of them like the fist of God himself and despite being just over three months along Harry seemed to tire easily under the heat like a balloon that was pricked with a pin. Three more days of trekking wasn't too kind on them, the horse that they had found at the old house wasn't going to allow both of them to rid comfy enough with a heavy bag of guns and bullets along with two bags of food and a pregnant man who became nauseated quicker than cat on drugs. So walking it was, and soon the water ran out before the food.

"The road is too clear" Harry murmured, gun at his side though the safety was still on. Rick agreed, for a city that should have suffered the most damaged of all the street before them was eerily clear of any life, dead or alive.

"There be more of something. We haven't seen not even one of them yet. What happened to the hordes you were telling me about?"

Rick eyed Harry, the last bit of water had been swallowed just over a few hours ago and that had been anything but a mouthful. He was okay for now but he kept an eye on Harry. They turned a corner and Rick quickly place an arm in front of the younger man . Even though weren't moving at an alarming speed as to keep the noise level down.

"There's your horde, my my aren't you proud daddy" Rick didn't need Harry's dry humor at the moment, not when the minimal noise they made drew the attention of the foremost walker.

"Harry run, turn the fuck around and run!" at Rick's not so quiet cry the one at the front with it's grey and half eaten face turned and snarled.

Rick slung the weapons bag over his shoulder and the satchel around his neck as he turned and shot the closest one in the head. The noise only seemed to spur them on more, the others further down the street turning at the loud bang.

Harry had already begun to run when Rick pulled the trigger, his own bag around his shoulders and gun in hand. Rick caught up to him in no time, his free hand grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him along. A few blocks later and Harry was taking in deep lung fulls of breaths as he leaned against a wall. "Common Harry we can't stop yet they're still following us"

He whimpered as he pushed off the cemented brick, allowing Rick to take the bag of food from him and to gently push him along. Fuck he was tired but looking behind them, the horde was still following ambling now that they scented fresh and alive prey. Jesus it shouldn't be this difficult, but Harry knew that he was dehydrated and the uncomfortable resting spots they stopped at hadn't helped with any sleep he gotten, added to the fact that the city's air was permanently stuck on Dead-Breeze and smelled like a pile of rotting corpses which wasn't a lie if one could look back and see said dead people.

"W-wait, a few minutes please Rick" he wheezed out. Walls were his new best friend and the pavement his newest lover so Daryl would just have to suck it up and share with his unlikely partner. He felt like he was going to die or vomit, maybe even pass out, though not necessarily in that order. He watched as Rick paced back and forth, watching the entrance to the ally they entered for the first sight of the horde that was following them and for a brief moment Harry entertain the idea of telling the older man to go and run, to leave him behind. He cradled his stomach, and that small moment of insanity evaporated like water in the desert because he was a selfish person every leap year and in that instance he wanted to be as selfish as who his brother-in-law liked to the point of it being creepy.

Rick stopped his pacing and crouched down before Harry, his hand reaching out to press a hand to his forehead and neck. "I'm not dying or suffering from a fever you. Just tired and a bit dizzy. A minute more and I'll be good Rick" the deputy gave him a look that spoke wonders on how much he believed him but didn't comment instead he stood back up and stepped backwards looking down the ally way.

"I see a door" groaning because that meant he had to get up again and actually move in this god forsaken place called Atlanta where the people ate who they saw like a bad 40's movie. Harry groaned again, because great, he was now babbling to himself. Rick helped him up, easing him along until they stood in front of the what was once blue but now looked more like a dying gray. No groans could be heard, so that meant they still had a bit of time.

Raising his gun, he hit the lock with the butt of the weapon until the lock broke. Twisting it off and throwing it to the side he eased the door open and fuck if the sound didn't attract any dead from two towns over then they were lucky. Flashing his small light around he cleared it before ushering Harry inside, the place was dark and some good ole fashion searching blindly in the dark did wonders when a switch was found.

"It's a storage room" Dropping their bags on a nearby table, he yanked several heavy boxes from the side and pushed them against the door that swung open from their end, building up a barricade of sorts until he was satisfied. Retrieving a chair from under some boxes he dragged it and placed it for Harry who looked at him like he was the ass of God before sitting down. Rummaging through the remaning food bag he found a can of peaches with the kind of syrupy juice Carl liked, bent at odd angles but the lid was still good. He opened it and held it out to Harry.

"Here, it might help a bit" he watched Harry sipped at the sweet juice in the can and watched as he ate the fruit. It wasn't a bottle of a water and a warm bed, but he hoped it did some good. Harry smiled at him when he handed back the empty can and Rick could see the exhaustion surrounding the man. The last thing he wanted to do was return Harry to his husband half dead and weak in the knees. Looking around the room he spotted unopened boxes marked Bed & Bath, Cosmetics and Health & Body. Tearing open two of the he sighed when he found sealed pillows, soft and fluffy and a wrapped comforter. The other box had some towels that looked as expensive as they felt and Rick waved one of them at Harry. Looking back to the doorway they entered he made sure it was barricaded one last time before he laid out the towels, tearing open more boxes to build a sort of shabby but soft towel mattress. He dropped two pillows at the top, fluffing them up a bit even though they were perfectly built.

Harry was already on his way to dozing when Rick eased him down on the makeshift bed, while outside was warm to the point of the humidity becoming dizzying, inside the storage was chilly, the Ac still humming with life even though the store was abandoned. He didn't bother trying to remove the shoes or clothes from his friend, seeing no point in making things harder if they had to flee. When he draped the blue and green comforter over Harry, tucking the edges in he nudged the man. "I'm going to check around, just to make sure there's no immediate danger close to us. I'll be back in a few minutes" he smiled at his friend and Harry stared at him for a short moment before nodding.

"Don't get eaten because you forgot to use your knife, you'd just be the douche who left the pregnant dude alone surrounding by brain eaters" Harry murmured causing Rick to snort.

"I'd hate to disappoint you then. Just think of the scandal it would be" Harry hummed , nuzzling the pillow and looking more wrecked by the minute as he stretched out his limbs with a groan Rick couldn't figure out if it was one of pain or bliss over the fact he was laying on a poor excuse of a bed, something better other than the hard ground for a bed and his arm for a pillow.

"You better call Olivia Pope then"

Rick frowned "Who?"

His question made Harry open his eyes and gawk at him as if he had just said he wiped his ass with poison ivory. "You don't know who Olivia Pope is? Are you a heathen like Duane? Dear god, if we make it out alive I'm going to find a tv, and dvd's and make you a worshiper, believer and member of the Gladiators."

"Get some rest Harry I'll be back"

 _ **HD**_

Creeping through a dimly lit store with the only light being the sun that was barely shining through the glass doors was hardly his definition of fun. Fun would be kicking back on a Sunday he was off duty with Shane as they watched a game with some beers and chicken, or maybe some pizza. Fun was playing baseball with his son and teaching him police terms. Fun was dancing on a saturday night he came early with Lori, reliving some of the memories from when they had first met. So flashlight in hand along with his gun he tried to avoid any broken glass, anything that would draw attention to himself.

Turning the corner by the clothing section he nearly pulled the trigger when a woman, perfectly human and not leaking internal bodily fluids pulled a deer in headlight look. His grip tightened on the gun and he stayed his ground, despite Harry's belief he did watch television, even if he didn't know what Scandal or Supernatural or freaking South Park was. He watched enough to know that these innocent looking women were more than often followed by some men with guns.

The cold muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of his neck he cursed his luck. "Put the gun down buddy, and no one gets hurt. Slide it over to her"

Clicking on the safety he slowly lowered the weapon to the tiled floor and slid it over the woman with his foot. She picked it up just as quick, pushing the safety back off. Her aim was going to be as shitty as her stance and posture, that he was thankful for. The man at his back didn't remove the gun and from the corner of his eye he could see another three, maybe four other figures.

"I don't want any trouble friend. I was just scouting the area to make sure it's safe" Rick spoke slowly but didn't dare to move, not with so many guns on him and his own gun being pointed in his general direction by shaky hands.

"Scouting for what? You a cop or something? In case you haven't noticed, there are no laws in place for you to dictate"

"I was a cop, before all of this, but like said, I don't want any trouble, and I don't want to cause any trouble, I don't have time for that"

The man snorted and Rick heard one of the people who stood just out of his vision moved deliberately slow until he was standing just to the side of Rick's left. "T-Dog man, common, move the gun from the guns head. If he wanted to shoot us, then Andrea would've been dead already"

Rick pitched a guess that the woman holding his gun and shaking like a leaf was Andrea.

"You can't know that for sure"

"He said he was a cop before man, that should-"

"And since when were all cops good on their word huh? They were dirty before shit went down, and they could be dirty now."

Rick swallowed, keeping his hands were they could be seen. "I don't know what sort of trouble you had with cops, but I followed the law. I swear to you I don't mean you lot any trouble. I was just scouting to make sure no dead was close enough, I had no intention of hurting any of you. I didn't even know people were around the store besides me and Harry"

It was best to mention Harry now, even though he wanted to keep his friend secret and potentially safe. If Harry was to wander in now… shock and weapons simply did not ended well.

"Who's Harry? Who else you got hiding up in here?!" the gun was back to being pressed to the back of his neck and Rick grimaced.

"Harry is my friend. He's currently in the storage resting. That is why I was scouting, to make sure that if I left him alone while he was sleep he would be safe"

"Who else?" he was questioned again.

"No one else. Only the two of us. No one will come looking either. It's been the two of us since I woke up out of the hospital, no one else. I swear." the man who was trying to convince the apparent 'T-Dog' to take the gun off of him looked between him and the man behind his back.

"I'll take Jacqui and go check, don't shoot him T-Dog" a black woman walked across from him, she looked like a reasonable woman from the glance he got of her, hopefully she was as calm as the peacemaker who he had yet to put a name to the face. He listened as their footsteps grew lighter and the door to the storage entrance opened and closed.

"Turn around" he did so slowly and stared at the black man ahead of him. T-Dog was bulky and Rick figured in a one on one he would be trouble.

"If Morales and Jacqui comes back with anyone but your friend, I'm going to shoot you in the knees for lying and leave you to die here. If they come back with only him, I'll take this gun away from your head and Andrea will give you back your gun, you understand?"

Rick nodded but kept silent either way. It was a few minutes more before he heard the door opening and closing again, footsteps coming towards them.

"You find his friend Morales?" T-Dog asked, the muzzle of the gun trained between Rick's eyes and directly on his forehead. From where he stood Rick could see Harry leaning on the peacemaker Morales a mexican if he wasn't mistaken. Harry looked even more tired than when he left and frankly Rick felt at a lost as to what to do. He watched as they lowered Harry to the ground by the cashout counter, and the benign way it was done made Rick guess that they figured out Harry's situation.

"Yea, we found him and only him T-Dog. They came in through a side entrance from the alley way but the door is barricaded so you don't have to worry.. You can take the gun off the man now, we have another problem on our hands" T-Dog hesitated but eventually he pulled the gun away and held out his hand to Andrea for the next. Rick cared less about the gun at the moment as he kneeled down alongside Harry. Situating a hand on his forehead Rick frowned when he felt the skin was a bit too warm.

"What's wrong with him" he wasn't sure how he felt about T-Dog being so close Harry but as long as the man didn't make any sudden ricky moves to him, then he wouldn't say anything. If he did however…

"He's dehydrated. We've been walking for around two days and some and the heat is getting to him. His situation is… delicate" that actually earned him a glare from Harry who expressively told and Morgan that he wasn't some flower. If anything he was some poisonous plant that would make their asses kneel.

T-Dog tilted his head and snorted "You mean he's knocked up" the woman named Jacqui smacked the man on the shoulder which just earned her a laugh for trying to keep the modesty level.

"Yea, exactly that"

T-Dog shrugged and stood up, "Seen a lot of that behind the bars, nothing new" this time Harry snorted and gave the man a crooked grin.

"You're a more Jessica Rabbit kinda guy as opposed to Fred FlintStone huh"

T-Dog gave another bark of laughter and sent back a grin. "Punani is life pretty boy"

That just earned him a harder smack from Jacqui and a disapproving look from the silent Andrea.

"Hey guys we got a - woah who're they?" everyone turned to stare at the asian boy who just skated to stop a few feet away from them, his sneaker squeaking and his expression wide and curious.

Morales walked over to him and pat him on the shoulder, taking the backpack from him. Soon Rick found himself with a clear plastic bottle hurdling towards him which he caught. Seeing that it was water he quickly uncorked it, the bottle a little below half ways full and he held it to Harry's lips but jerked it back along with everyone else when the doctor lurched forward and threw up.

"I'm so confused right now, I dunno if that pile of nasty is to do with my peanut or my mild case of severe dehydration." Harry stared at the pool of vomit like it held the answers to world domination and Rick felt a bit sick himself just watching him stare at undigested chunks of peaches.

"Okay, up you go, away from your confusion and somewhere clean buddy. Then we'll get you hydrated a bit." Jacqui had already pulled a blouse off a rack and was wiping the sides of his mouth while Morales held up his other side, helping Rick carry him to the Bed & Bath section and then onto a real bed with a real mattress.

"Oooh God, Daryl is gonna be so pissed at you Rick. You just made his husband's toes curl" the deputy tried to ignore the implications of what his friend just said, by all means he was convinced Harry was bordering on delusional now, so with all the grace of a man his age who rode the rodeo of witnessing pregnancy before, he eased Harry up further on the pillows and tilted the mouth of the bottle to his lips, pouring it slowly and then it was gone. An instant later and Harry was resting again.

Rick sighed and took off his hat, sitting on the mattress and would love for all the money in the world to just fall asleep like his friend but he was neither pregnant, thank jesus and all the angels, nor was he physically tired just slightly wary with worry.

The rest of the small group was sitting on the other side of aisle on the other beds and in some chairs watching him. T-Dog was folded into a mini couch next to the Chinese kid who was still staring wide eyed at him then mostly at Harry. Following his line of sight he carefully pulled down the hitched up t-shirt that exposed the mound where Harry's baby made home, then he raised an eyebrow at the kid.

"I-I'm Glenn, I didn't mean to offend you just, I never saw a real one y'know. It's freaking cool" Glenn sported a blush now at the silent judgement he received until Rick stood and held out his hand. Glenn shook it like a starving man.

"I'm Rick, and he's Harry. You were mentioning a problem when you came in?"

Glenn blinked at him then shot off the bed like it bite him in the ass. "Fuck, fuck oh shit. You gotta see it for yourself man" when he saw Rick's conflicted look he looked to Jacqui for help who shooed them along and promised to holler if she needed help. Rick left her sitting on the mattress with Harry as he and the others followed Glenn to the front of the store. Now a man within reason would've backed up and tried to find an escape route but honestly, Rick was hardly surprised any longer. Luck was a thing of the past and now it played so dirty it could literally kill you.

The storefront which had been secured after the outbreak was now hosting a swarm of the undead outside the glass and metal panel doors. The hands pounding against the glass leaved dirty smudges of what? Rick really didn't want know.

"What's the problem then?" this was the first time Andrea had spoken and if he was in for a dramatic flare fireworks would've popped out of his ass in celebration.

Glenn motioned for them to walk closer to the glass and he pointed out a crack may be several feet long. It wasn't deep but he understood exactly what the consequences would be if it did. Another crack was pointed out and then the final one, this one actually having fallen off and in its place was a hole.

"They could break through" looking to Glenn the kid nodded.

"Yupp and I don't know about you but, I'd rather be anywhere but here when they do. But that is only problem one. I heard you firing shots earlier, at first I thought it was T-Dog, buuut apparently Merle was having fun as well, anyway, those shots attracted well to be frank, a fuck storm of those things outside. The entrance-" he pointed to it "Is blocked, which was also our exit. There's a way out the back where they load off the goods, but that is blocked too."

Well this was hardly a fucking amusement park was it.

"How about a distraction" well that certainly gained their attention.

"Noise seems to work well enough on gaining bringing them to where we are, let's use that to our advantage. Someone distracts them and the next gets a truck or something at the offloading point to pick up the rest of the group"

Glenn, T-Dog, Morales and Andrea looked at him as if he was crazy before Glenn clapped his hands.

"Well then smartass who fired off shots and now we're trapped. Normally I would be calling you dumbass by now but… that's not such a bad idea."

"Fuck that"

"Glenn you've got to be kidding me"

"Dios ayudanos…"

 _ **HD**_

It was ironic how the one supporter he had gotten from earlier was now regretting it more than anyone else. They had snagged a geek as Glenn had affectionately dubbed them and were in the process of hacking it open. The idea itself was gruesome, but any pity and regret Rick felt for the dead man was being quickly rubbed away by the smell the rotten guts emitted.

"Esto huele tan jodidamente mal"

"Oh my god… what are we doing…?"

"Fuck, this shit is nasty"

After T-Dog had told Glenn to think about dead kittens and puppies and the kid threw up in a spectacular spray of nasty, they were now rubbing zombie guts over a piece of cloth and wrapping intestines around their necks like a fashion statement. How the hell he went from eating donuts with Shane to this creepy as hell shit he didn't want to think about it.

"Duuuude, this smells so nasty. This smells like garbage had sex with a dead animal and that animal rolled over and took it from a corpse." Glenn gagged and T-Dog snorted even as he hacked into the body of what used to be a man. Glenn had fished out any personal belongings he could find and the name Wayne Dunlap didn't ring any bells to anyone. Just a nameless walker.

"Kittens and Puppies, all the puppies and kittens in the world"

Glenn sent him a baleful look and threw a bit of guts at him.

"I hate you man"

Rick rolled his eyes, but he had to admit the smell was awful but the idea was to trick the son of bitches outside, so the nastier the better. "Do it later Glenn"

Morales just dropped the axe and stared at the other three men his mutterings of "Dios perdoname" having ceased.

"Estoy rodeado de idiotas"

Rick picked out at least one word from the mumbled set, idiots being just that. He felt vaguely offended at the moment, even though he guessed Morales meant the other two.

"You never know man, this dude might've ate a cat or something." T-Dog lifted what looked like a paw from the belly of the dead zombie with the blade of the axe and Glenn took one look at it and puked again. T-Dog dropped the crowbar and remains of the paw and laughed, even though Morales looked like he wanted to smack both of them and Andrea look vaguely disturbed from where she stood off to the side. While Rick would normally tell anyone under his command to stop their shit, it was better to laugh now than die out there and wish you did.

"You ready?" Rick could feel his heart pounding in his chest, fear was natural, but it was also good. When you didn't fear something dangerous you got cocky and cockiness lead to death. He couldn't afford that at the moment and yea, he wasn't afraid to admit he was scared at the moment.

Glenn looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Am I ready to go out into a horde of things that want to eat my face and squishy bits? Fuck No, but it's not like we have much of a choice" he grumbled and Rick took that as an affirmative and they headed out.

The irony of it all never seemed to amaze Rick any longer. Six days of no rain, and now it poured. He did not expect ever to be sneaking around with a dead person's guts smeared over him while avoiding the technically dead yet alive dead people with a former chinese pizza delivery guy.

"I'm Korean! Jeez what is it with everyone thinking I'm chinese!?" Glenn looked offended and Rick just frowned.

"Not to offend you but… Don't you all originate from the same general area?" Glenn just sputtered.

 _ **HD**_

 **A/n:** Your reviews give me powaa like for real, I've read every single one probably like three times so far. This is like some super saiyan bs here. I've read all of the reviews and guys just wow, I'm so happy that you liked the first chapter since posting that had me all jittery and shit, so hopefully you like this one as well.

As for one of the reviewers who asked a question but their PM was off - **RaayJ** \- honestly that was a mistake, I'm pretty sure I was reading something and that just slipped from my brain and onto the laptop screen. But thanks for the heads up boo!

 **Twi's Dreamer** \- You are a unicorn, have a fucking cookie you awesome sprinkle. I'm so happy you like both stories :P

And of course there is always a brownie in the bunch who's burnt around the edges, underneath and just generally inedible to the point that it's coal. Darling guest whose name is ' **Bruce'** if you hadn't realised the description clearly said slash, which by our terms means yes Harry is taking it up the duff. Why read something that is so glaringly slash then bitch about it? You my dear sir, are a burnt brownie.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n** : Wow, the response was amazing it has me floored actually. You guys are just gonna make a girl feel all special and shit. Sorry for the long wait and any mistakes found and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **Warnings** : Shane, butchering of the canon and a major drastic explosion lack of Merle.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead.**

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" **Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."**

 **-Dale**

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 _Chapter Three_

A lot could be said about the human mind, about it's brilliance and ability to remember, but the same could also be said about it's _forgetfulness_.

"Oh shit!" Andrea jumped when T-Dog slapped the side of the truck they were travelling, Harry's head resting on Rick's thighs where they had him spread out on the floor of the vehicle.

"What? What's wrong?" Jacqui asked. Rick wondered the same when T-Dog appeared to look vaguely uncomfortable.

"We forgot Merle… "

Rick raised an eyebrow when Jacqui gasped and Andrea looked stricken, Morales who was driving the truck would've probably given some similar response in spanish.

"I seem to be the odd one out here, whose Merle?"

"Merle was… is another member of our group and he has a younger brother back at the camp" Andrea murmured, which was all good and well since the woman seemed to clamp up since Rick stepped two feet towards her since their first initial meeting.

"Okay… and how did ya'll forget an entire human being in a department store overrun with walkers?" he was trying not to look at the situation badly, but from where he stood, or rather sat he was failing to do so.

"Because Merle is a racist son-of-a-bitch whose dick is a little bigger than a mouse. The only one who would probably miss him is Daryl, his brother"

"Daryl?"

"Yea, he's a lot nicer than Merle could ever be, but, y'know how it is with family"

Rick could only nod and he idly wondered how many 'Daryl's' he would get to know before the year was completely out.

"Okay… I'm still missing how you left a whole man behind. Where was he? Why didn't I see him while we were back there?" Rick frowned at them using his best disappointed officer looking upon civilians look he could muster.

"We had him tied up on the roof with a piece of rope, he and T-Dog got into a fight and Merle got the upper hand and he wouldn't stop hitting T-Dog so we… we hit him with a piece of pipe and knocked him out. It's not like we meant to leave him! Just… with you and him it got kinda confusing then Glenn came back with the news and - you're partly to blame too in this situation!"

Rick eyed Andrea as if she was a new breed of mammal that popped up. Was this woman seriously blaming him and Harry?

"You're seriously blaming me and a dehydrated pregnant man who was, and currently still is unconscious for the majority of our interactions? Really? That is your conclusion to the grand scheme of things? Blame the two people that show up who you held at gunpoint"

Andrea flushed, her face turning red but the embarrassment gave out into anger. "Yes I am! If you didn't appear we wouldn't have had the influx of dead banging on the doors trying to break in! Why? Because you and preggo over there couldn't help but fucking shoot and attract them towards us! Then you commandeer everything like you are the king of the world and drag us out the department store away from the mess you created and it caused us to leave Merle behind! So yes I am blaming you and that freak of fucking nature!"

She panted, the light blush now a full on red that spread from her cheeks to her neck, but Rick hardly noticed, all he saw was an angry woman who pointed fingers at him and Harry who for all his happy wit and good cooking was helpless at the moment. He personally didn't enjoy arguments since he got calls of domestic disturbances which escalated to murders all because of a few screaming matches, but the woman before him sitting on the other side of the truck made under his skin itch.

"Andrea that was uncalled for" Rick didn't take his eyes away from the blonde but Jacqui's voice was full of chastisement made for belittling someone perhaps several time smaller than Andrea but from the looks of it, it seemed to work wonders. Andrea huffed and folded her arms.

Rick hardly cared, he didn't need an apology from her, but he would keep an eye on her from now on. He had what his father called Dog Loyalty. When he felt a soft touch he looked down and saw Jacqui's hand on his shoulder, her smooth dark skin just a bit grimy from sweat, but her smile was sweet and genuine.

"Don't mind Andrea, she's a good girl, but she can say things she doesn't mean at times. And don't worry about Harry as soon as we get back to camp we'll get some water in him and proper place to rest. It'll all be okay officer"

Rick looked at Jacqui for a long moment and he wondered if she was once a mother, her voice was soft and soothing, calmer than he'd ever heard Lori's when talking to Carl. He wanted to know if she'd lost someone or people, but even he realized that was beyond rude without Harry giving him the stink eye.

"Thank you" she murmured and gave her a nod. She smiled at him and gently pet Harry's cheek before moving over to a silent T-Dog.

He didn't know how long they were driving but the smooth road soon became more bumpy with dirty than with cement and before long despite dark grumblings about murder Harry blinked awake and stared at Rick's stomach for what seemed to be ages until Rick poked him in the shoulder.

"I don't remember where we are… why is the store moving?" Rick snorted, his arms nearly cradling Harry when the van shaked again and he heard Morales shout out a muffled sorry.

"We got out, there was a situation at the store and we had to leave. We're on our way to their campsite" he decided to leave out the part where they hacked into a walker and dressed up in it's body parts, oh and the leaving a man behind shindig because Harry's bleeding heart got annoying sometimes.

"Oh" and then he was back out once more.

.

 **DH**

 **.**

Lori was in heaven, and if that heaven involved fucking on a forest floor with her late husband's best friend then she would take whatever slice of heaven she could get. She groaned and it only seemed to encourage Shane even further a wide grin on his face. She would admit, that a small part of her missed Rick, his laugh, their first dates, the look on his face when he held Carl for the first time and his morals, but then it could be argued that since only a small section of her heart yearned for those moments again the larger part of her yearned for something or someone that wasn't him.

When Shane had found her and told her that Rick had died in the hospital she could feel herself fall apart. The man she had loved for so many years, her son's father, her husband was dead. And when she was falling deeper and deeper into depression Shane was the one who had pulled her out when no one else could, not even Carl. It was wrong in some way, she knew that, to sleep with your husband's best friend but Rick was dead and Shane was alive.

She shouldn't be made to choose something so glaringly obvious.

Shane pulled out and made a quick show of tucking himself back in, leaning down to give her a hand. Lori smiled at him, and tugged up her jeans just as Shane leaned down to give her a rough kiss. She knew that she should feel guilty since her husband probably would never be six feet under and he had yet to be dead for a year, but… she had moved on with someone that made her blood rush and heart beat like crazy. Someone who made sex feel like she was soaring and her body tremble every time she had an orgasm. Rick hadn't been that person for years, and if he truly loved her from where ever he was, then he would be happy for her for moving on with someone like Shane. She would not be made guilty for wanting to feel like she was sixteen again, or because she was giving Carl the chance to have a father again. Carl was Rick's gift to her and she would treasure him she would make sure that his legacy lived on, she would make sure - Lori pulled away from the kiss and stepped back, her eyes searching the surrounding woods.

"Shane… where's Carl?" Shane shrugged his shoulders not looking in the slightest worried as Lori felt.

"He's probably with Sofia and the other children playing somewhere. Stop being so paranoid, it's not as if a ghost is gonna pop outta the trees and haul him away to neverland"

Lori pursed her lips as she glared at him, her hand on her hips where his hand been clench around like a lifeline just a few minutes ago. "I have to be paranoid, he's my son, he's the only thing I have left of - he's only a little boy who thinks it's okay to roam this place like it's a playground! And you know it's not going to be _ghosts_ that get him, but the walkers!" she was fuming and her anger only reached new heights when the man she now considered her lover burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Shane was bent in half, his arms around his stomach as he snickered. "Shane!" still grinning he stood up and brought her into his arms.

"You worry too much baby, Carl's a strong boy like his daddy was, you don't got to keep avoiding saying his name around me. Because of him, I have you in my arms every day. I get to kiss you, make love to you, fuck you and it's all because he said 'I do' at the altar that day. I know that man my life, and I'm sorry everyday that I wasn't the one who got shot, that I wasn't able to save him, that I couldn't give that boy his father back but Lori never will I be ashamed of what we have."

Lori stared at him, her anger melting away like heated ice and a soft smile took it's place. "Never?"

Shane smirked and kissed her on the lips. "Never"

Lori hugged him and sighed. She may have had many nice years with Rick, but now she was going to have wonderful and beautiful years with Shane even if the world had gone to shit because love had no guilt.

"What the fuck is that!" Shane pulled away from her, running back towards the camp from where they had snuck off separately to have some privacy, she stood there for a moment before following him to where the loud blaring of what seemed to be a car horn was coming from.

"Pop the damn hood!" Glenn scrambled and opened the hood of the trunk and a moment later the loud alarm stopped as abruptly as it came screeching in when Jim disconnected it. Shane gave Glenn a look that promised murder and body never found and Glenn the quirky kid he was found safety behind Dale.

"What the fuck were you thinking bringing that noise up here! Walker for miles could've heard that and could be heading this way now you stupid-" Glenn yelped and danced away when Shane lunged at him and Dale intervened.

"Now Shane common, we're far up, they won't be able to pinpoint our exact location even if they did head in the general direction. It was mistake son, it won't happen again." Shane stared down at Dale and Dale stared back at him until the younger man pulled away from, giving Glenn one last glare before brushing past Lori who followed after him.

"What was his problem.." Dale turned to Glenn and gave him one of those grandfathered looks that made the younger children immediately confess their crimes, Glenn was no different and he kept his mouth closed about the matter.

"Now that is all taken care of you won't be pulling out anymore noise makers that'll make Shane want to kill you now would you Glenn?" he received a shake of the head. "Good, now where are the others? Don't tell me…"

Glenn hopped to his feet from where he had sat and grinned big and wide. "They're right behind me, but my car was faster so it y'know got here faster" he finished lamely.

Dale only nodded and fixed his hat giving Glenn one last meaningful stare "You be careful around Shane, I know he means well but that man has a temper on him." so Glenn did just that, and when Amy came running over to ask about her sister he told her the same thing he had said before.

Apparently he Glenn had overestimated how quickly the others were travelling because while he had believed they would come rumbling up in a few short minutes, half an hour tops it took them over two hours to come to a stop in the opening with T-Dog at the wheel this time with Andrea in the passenger seat and while Glenn could compare the swarm of people suddenly surrounding the small van akin to ants, he refused to call himself an ant since he was one of the first to hear it's rumbling and then see it. T-Dog hopped from the front and rounded to the back where Rick was already pulling up the door, Morales on the ground holding out his hands and Glenn could see a dull yellow stain on the man's shirt.

"What took you guys so long huh? Did something happen?" Rick hopped down from the truck while T-Dog helped Jacqui down but Glenn was focused on the former police officer because who was the man kidding, the law was as dead as the people who made it, possibly even _deader_.

"Harry got sick, so we had to pull over a few times" Rick had this pinched look on his face like it pained him to say, maybe it did who was Glenn to judge. Morales was already walking over to the tents and Glenn in all his quirkiness had set up one of the spare ones for Harry and Rick to share. Rick gave him a grateful smile that had Glenn grinning because seriously, he felt the inner boy scout he never was rear it's head in pride. "Water, do you have any?" he nodded "Bring some, I need to get Harry hydrated again"

"Oh. Oh! Right! Uhh I'll be right back!" he ignored T-Dog's amused snort and dashed off, grabbing two large bottles of clean water he had seen Lori bring in earlier that day before taking it back to the tent where Harry was now stripped down to just his pants. "Woah.." he had known the man to be pregnant but seeing the stomach distended and actually freaking real was a whole other show. He felt as if he was in some soap opera, soon enough there would be a jealous wife who was having an affair but still wanted both men. He'd name her Doria.

Rick took the bottles from him and the cup that he had picked up as well , pouring the water half way into the cup and with the help of Jacqui who was seriously beginning to look like a quiet angel, he massaged some down Harry's throat. "Is he gonna be okay?" now that he really looked at the older man, he was lying a bit too still, his chest rising a bit too quickly and for a guy who was gestating another life inside of his body he really didn't look like a firecracker at the moment and Rick's pinched looked turned to one of constipation.

"I don't know, I'm not exactly a professional in this area of expertise. I'm just hoping once we get him hydrated and sleeping on something that ain't a hard ground he'll perk back up" Glenn looked back towards the dark haired man who Jacqui was now covering with what looked like a brand new comforter, because while they were running for their lives from the dead obviously someone had thought about picking up a few bedroom stuff.

"Sure you don't like _like_ him?" Rick just glared at him while T-Dog laughed from outside of the tent, his footsteps moving then fading. Morales sighed and finally went to properly greet his family, giving Rick a solid squeeze on the shoulder. Jacqui bless her soul continued to tend to Harry.

"What? What'd I do?" he asked T-Dog when the man back tracked and dragged him away from the tent.

.

 **DH**

 **.**

Harry grumbled and buried himself deeper into the sleeping bag, or at least he guessed it was a sleeping bag. It was soft and plushy and for once his back didn't feel like it would snap in half like a horrible rendition of Twilight because no - that was so not his life, but back to the real world, why the hell were people shouting? He smacked his lips and sighed hearing one of the gruff voices to be Rick's own. He honestly didn't know what whoever they were were arguing about but he did know that his bladder was about to demand all of the attention, and for the first time in however many days he was had been drifting in and out of consciousness Harry slowly picked himself up and crawled out of the tent.

Squinting because holy shit why was the sun up and about he scanned the unfamiliar surrounding that seemed to be lived in and lively, not counting the group of shouting men and women that were over on the other side of the camp. Looking around he spotted a few trees far away from the tents that any odor wouldn't drift back with the wind and "Good God and holy mother Mary" he rested his arm against the tree and groaned because really, did he not urinate at all in these last few blurry and annoyingly vague days? When the never ending stream finally stopped just as he was getting nervous he zipped up like the gentleman he was and walked over to the fire pit where he spotted Glenn and Jacqui with some of the camp kids.

It took the two adults who were watching the loud group a few seconds before they noticed he had sat down and he grinned at their surprised faces. "Heya"

What he was not expecting was for the dark skinned woman to reach over and pinch his thigh because - ow. Glenn outright laughed in his face and he pouted because if this was the greeting he got then he should've crawled back into the tent for another few days.

"What did I do?" he asked the woman who shook her head and stood, rounding over to his side and once again the hug he received was unexpected.

"How're you feeling Harry? You had us worried for the first few days" she touched his forehead and he blinked, a shy blush crawling up his neck and onto his cheeks before he ducked his head. "M'kay, just a bit hungry and I just peed like a mall fountain" he mumbled suddenly feeling shy. Glenn noticed too because the jerk laughed again.

He was a jerky jerk. Harry glowered at him.

"I can fix that right up. Hopefully you'll be able to keep down some actual food this time around, you gotta feed that babe that's resting inside of you" she took the bowl that Glenn held out and opened the medium sized pot that rested over the burned out flames, by the steam that exploded outwards Harry could hazard a guess that whatever it was, was still piping hot.

"Rick always asks one of us to leave back some of whatever we cook, just in case you decided to wake up. Hopefully fish roasted fish and some beans won't turn that belly of yours" she spoon two helping of beans into the bowl then a whole fish that had been roasted thoroughly. Harry took the bowl and the spoon then took his first bite. The moan that escaped his mouth made the jerky jerk blush and Jacqui to smile indulgently at him. It wasn't his fault, his taste buds had been only friends with water and water vomit, sometimes the watery vomit had the taste of rejected food so this simple beans and fish was practically making his toes curl.

"Oh my gawd, Jacqui if I wasn't already hitched, gay and carrying someone else's baby I'd totally marry you" she took the bowl from him with a laugh when he inhaled the remaining portion from the pot, the empty bowl being placed in a tub of water.

"Sweet child, I'm too old for you even if you weren't all of the above" Harry grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe I like 'em older, you totally be a cougar and I'd be your boy toy. In another life maybe we go at it like bunnies" that sent the woman into a spiral of giggles and Glenn looked a bit ill at the thought.

Harry smiled at Jacqui watched as the normally quiet and somber woman giggle herself crazy, tears gathering at her eyes. He wondered who she had lost, because despite never having a mother of his own he knew that she had a mother's touch. The soft presses to his cheek and the gentle smiles that lit up her eyes, how her voice was soothing. She must have been someone's mother before the world went spiralling down into a crap pool. He tilted his head and watched as she wiped away some of the tears. If she wasn't someone's mother then she had younger siblings that she had cared for, but regardless he decided that he liked Jacqui and he told her just that.

Jacqui blinked at the younger man before she smiled, reaching out to hold his hand in her, squeezing it gently but firm. "I like you too Harry" they stared at one another for a bit, Harry covering her hand with his own until Glenn cleared his throat in awkwardness.

"So, what are the kiddies arguing about over there?" he motioned to the group of people who seemed a few minute away from exchanging blows, especially Rick and a dark haired man. Glenn looked at Jacqui who frowned. "They're arguing about you darling, Shane over there doesn't trust you, and when Rick told them that you were his doctor when he was shot Lori said that it was a lie and that just seemed to open up a whole new can of crap. Shane says that if you lied about something as important as that then _obviously_ you must be hiding something and he either wants you out of the camp or interrogated just to make sure you don't sell us out to somebody else."

Her facial expression showed Harry just what she thought about Shane's opinion. Seeing as how he recognised Morales and T-Dog, even if he was barely coherent when they met briefly then the one who was squaring off with Rick had to be Shane. He stood and dusted off the back of his low riding jeans, because his stomach was a cause so lost it was no longer an issue.

"Where you going? Not over there right?" Glenn looked vaguely alarmed and Harry demoted him to just jerk.

"Yupp I am, before someone decides to whip out a dick and start pissing on each other. Nobody got time for that" Glenn looked at Jacqui as if the woman could talk some sense into him but all she did was smile at Harry with a murmured 'be careful'.

Harry walked over to the group and eyed the people gathered. T-Dog, Morales, Rick, the guy named Shane, a blonde woman who look vaguely familiar and another woman with brown hair that looked to be trying to calm both of the men, her hand on Shane's chest while her back was to Rick, an obvious sign that she took the former police-man's side. The notion wasn't lost on the other guy because his face turned an ugly shade of red and if this was an A.U with werewolves the man would be snarling. He was a few feet away and the only one to notice him was Morales who gave him a smile despite the situation, then he was within arms reach of Rick when Shane pushed the woman out of the way and threw a punch at Rick.

Then of course, the general chaos happened and somehow he found himself being pushed onto the ground with Morales shouting something in spanish. If he had to guess the words were rather dirty, the woman who had stood between them, who must be Lori. Sure his ass hurt because one it was a forest floor and two it was his ass, he really should have gone back to sleep after his long pee session with the tree, at least the tree didn't knock him on his ass with a branch, the tree had more manners so there goes a point for nature.

Rick was on top of Shane and for a moment Harry just stared because the man he had been travelling with for all of those weeks seemed to melt away and a badass had taken his place. Not that he didn't believe Rick could fight, but for a guy who could fight like that, he sure was afraid of that mouse back when he had been recovering…

He was a bit dizzy whether it was from the unexpected trip to the ground or the two sides of the former officer but Harry needed to get up and get his friend. "Help me up please" Morales raised an eyebrow but obliged just as T-Dog grabbed Shane from behind and a tall man grabbed Rick and pulled the two apart just as he made his way over now that no one was going to send him flying. Sighing Harry kneeled down next to Rick ignoring Shane who glared at him from where T-Dog was man-handling him. He didn't speak to the man, watching as he came down from his adrenaline high enough to finally notice that Harry was next to him and not a projectile vomiting machine who was comatose in a tent.

Rick blinked at Harry and Harry blinked back at Rick.

What an enlightening conversation they were having… maybe the next time the man coughed he'd finally learn the secret to everlasting youth. "Harry?"

Like the little shit he was Harry tilted his head and mimicked him "Harry?" Rick sighed and rubbed his hand down his face, only peeking out to give the younger man a small glare and just because Harry was trying to prove his status as a _petite merde_ he copied the exact movements and dragged his hand down his face.

"I'll let you choke on your vomit next time" Rick threatened but Harry totally called a bluff on it because while he was a dick, Rick wasn't and would suffer horrible nightmares from letting him die such a humiliating death. He hugged him just to prove it.

"Nu-uh, 'cuz then Morgan would give you one of those looks and Duane would cry. You'd make a kid cry Rick? Would you really? Morgan would probably kill you for makin' Duane cry anyway" by now Lori had moved on from trying to gain Rick's attention and was left staring at Harry as if he was something strange and hideous, which rude. Rick snorted then pulled him flush against the dirt stained shirt, hugging him as much as his stomach would allow him and Harry hugged back maybe a bit tighter than needed.

"If you tell Morgan on me then when we find your husband I swear I'll rat you out on your attempted fried mouse escapade because what kind of doctor suggest that kinda stuff huh?" Harry pouted and poked his side.

"At least I didn't shuffle back like a scared girl"

"Says the man who found a grass snake in the kitchen and screamed loud enough that it attracted a few walkers…" Rick's retorted, amusement clear as day.

"It could have been _poisonous_! What sensible person doesn't freak out over snakes! What if it had been a-"

"You! What the hell is going on!" Harry looked at Lori who was beginning to get an angry flush on her face, her slim hands balled into fists. He heard Rick sigh against his shoulder before pulling back and standing, taking Harry up with him. Brown eyes met green and brown eyes glared at green.

"Well I was having a conversation with Rick here when you interrupted so… I'm not sure anymore" he was sure all of the hostility that was being aimed at him from three people he didn't know was based on what Jacqui had told him, and if that was the case then he would be sitting for any conversation aimed at him from Gi-Joe and Cali-Barbie.

Cali-Barbie gave him a glare as well. What was it with people glaring at him?

"You know what I'm talking about! This whole situation is your fault and I want you to explain exactly what lies you were telling my husband"

Sarcasm was one of his very dear friends and while he was shocked to hear that good ole Rick was married to her well, sarcasm always won in the end.

"I'm sorry, did you miss the part where I was unconscious in a tent from dehydration and mild malnutrition due to my inability to keep anything down during that time or do you just like to ignore the obvious?" he smiled at her because while he couldn't outright commit murder, he could kill her with kindness. "So forgive me while I take the blame for GI-Joe sucker punching Rick because well y'know _magic fingers_ and shit"

Lori stepped forward and Rick finally moved away from Harry's side to pull her against him. "Alright just… let us just sit down so we can discuss this properly. Harry isn't a liar and he'll prove it to you. Your accusations against him are unfounded, but standing around won't make this discussion any easier" and there was the diplomatic Rick he had patched up. Walking back over to where Jacqui and Glenn had evacuated he gladly sat in the chair Rick pushed towards him gaining a scowl from Lori.

His ass wasn't even making a shadow in the chair before questions started. Looking around Harry saw Jacqui and Glenn standing with an older man sporting a full white beard, Morales standing with who Harry assumed was his wife and kids, T-Dog was next to the tall guy that helped break up the fight, the woman Andrea was standing next to a younger blonde who looked too old to be her kid so she must have been a sister, and then there was a mousy looking woman standing with a man and two kids, boy and girl each and everyone was staring at him including Rick.

"What are you?"

"An alien obviously" Harry knew people said that there were no no foolish questions but that was only valid under the pretense that the asker wasn't being intentionally foolish with a douchey face.

"Harry common.."

"He asked and I delivered, what do you want me to say, that yes I am a human male of my early thirties, married to a human male and expecting an equally human spawn?" he looked at Shane and raised an eyebrow "What me to pull down my pants and show you my dick to make sure I ain't smooth like Ken?" he heard someone choke on a laugh and he suspected that it was either Glenn or T-Dog.

Shane looked less than impress, his face colouring red again and Lori was quickly following his example. Rick only sighed and shook his head.

"No you little shit-"

"Why thank you"

"-I mean what's your profession and how'd you convince Rick that you're a doctor, was his doctor while he was laid up in a fucking coma"

"I was Rick's doctor"

"No you weren't! His doctor was Ronald Downes not you because the station had called him in when Rick was shot. I've never seen you around the hospital before so stopping lying and tell us the truth" Harry observed Lori, slowly looking her over from booted feet to brown hair, from the hitch when she spoke about when Rick was shot then he guessed that had been a traumatic experience for her and he watched as Rick hugged her to his side, then he watched as Shane's scowl went up a notch, not by much to be obvious but he could see the tightening of his lips and how his eyes narrowed on the pair.

"No, I wasn't Rick's doctor when he got shot but I am a doctor, technically I wasn't on call or a resident of that hospital, but I did tend to him while the other doctors abandoned ship when the fresh deceased in the morgue reanimated and started to eat people. Sure they took out some of the patients, and the police and army came not too long afterwards but people died every second from the outbreak, new patients that had been injured, bitten, ran over, trampled then doubled with the terminally ill people in the ICU, eventually it was too much and the hospital was overrun. They left him and when I was about to evacuate with everyone else I saw him, a gurney was in front of the door but the door to his room was open. So I tended to him, hid under the bed with him while the soldiers shot anyone and anything that moved, even each other because y'know fear will do that to you. Turn you against one another. Afterwards I just stayed with him, but someone decided to wake up when I was checking to see if there were any more painkillers in the upstairs med cab, and Rick you know the rest"

He leaned back into the chair and right now he really wished Daryl was here, at least his husband was useful for mundane things like foot rubs and back rubs, god his back rubs were needed like oxygen right about now. Rubbing his belly over the shirt gained him several curious looks and a poorly hidden look of disgust from Shane. Well fuck you too Ken.

"Rick may know but we don't. I want to see of your stories connect, I ain't taking any chances with someone like you"

"Someone like me?" because that sounded just a tad bit prejudiced.

"Answer the fucking question" Shane spat the same time Rick said the man's name, warning audible to all. Harry hummed and closed his eyes taking his time to answer simply because this was tiring and because he knew it would make Shane climb the metaphorical walls. Less than an hour of knowing the man and he could say with confidence that this was not going to be a sesame street relationship.

"Rick was about to put his hand into a barred off section of the hospital where the most casualties happened, where the soldiers couldn't take down enough of the reanimated quickly enough, so they were led into that area and the doors to the second wing OR were shut, chained and boarded up. I'm guessing one of the army men had spray painted the warning of dead being inside but I pulled Rick back before who I have a sneaking suspicion was took off his fingers and then hand. I took him out of the hospital-"

"Wait you took him out of the hospital when he had just woken up from a coma-"

Harry cut off Lori with a snort, a smile on his face once more "Oh I'm sorry, should I have left him there after paging a corpse to come and check up on him? Maybe I should've dragged the senior nurse's torso to his room so she could check on his pulse and then eat him because y'know zombies tend to do that. I'll keep that in mind next time" he stared at the woman daring her to protest again.

"As I saying. I took him from the hospital and we wandered around a bit, broke into a house stole some clothes and we stayed there for a month or two, until he could safely run without bleeding to death on a sidewalk. I taught him the basics, stab in the head to shut the down the brain, shut down the brain the body drops, noises attracts them as much as scent does, avoid getting their fluids inside of your system, getting scratched, or bitten, any cuts have to be tended to just as a precaution-"

"Why?" this question came from the boy who stood with the little girl and mousy woman. When he stepped forward and stood next to Rick Harry smiled, because he knew right away that this was the same Carl that Rick always spoke about, the blue eyes didn't lie.

"There was a theory that the virus was airborne as well, that while it thrived within a host, a new body by killing off the good cells and damaging then rotting the brain cells which causes the body to shut down before bringing them back to life. It was said that the virus could also live outside of the body, though it's influence is maybe one hundred times weaker possible three hundred times, within the right atmospheric conditions, the state of our immune system and body, then the virus could do the same to us without it being transmitted by fluid or bite."

Carl frowned and Harry could see the confusion on the boy's face. "But why did you tell him cuts had to be taken care of?"

"Because the chance of infection could affect him, me or you with just a small cut. The air was already polluted with the dead people, dead bodies that didn't come back to life, rotting animals, garbage, feces, pollution will make any open wound, no matter how small it is fester. An infection should be the last thing anyone wants without proper medical care. If you get an infection, you get a fever, fevers weaken your immune system, with a weak immune system then you're more susceptible to viruses and the like. A sick body is the perfect host for something airborne… then again… with the way things are going a perfectly healthy person could just as well be a host."

Carl looked a lot less confused as his hands played with Rick's shirt. "So we just don't have to get sick or get a cut and we'll be okay then right? Just like as long as we don't get bitten by them right?" Harry nodded and Carl gave him a shy smile, ducking behind his father's shoulder a bit, but Harry knew a rambunctious kid when he saw one and they only needed a bit of a push.

"Your name is Carl right?" the boy's eyes widened and he looked startled for a long moment before he gave Harry a stiff nod. "I recognise you because your dad always spoke about you. Everyday when we were walking from the hospital to when we were holed up in that house and then when we made some new friends. We never went a day without him telling me something about you, embarrasing stories aside because he told me a lot of those as well. That shows he loves you a lot y'know, for him to subtly brag that his son was the only baby in the neighborhood to speak so early and the great grades you got and your position on the soccer team" Carl was blushing now and Harry could see that he was squeezing Rick's shoulder who, wrapped an arm around the young boy's waist and pulled him into a hug all the while trying to smother a laugh.

"D-dad" the boy was definitely embarrassed but looked pleased.

"Enough stalling! Get on with it!" Harry cast Shane a dirty look and stuck out his tongue the continued to ignore the man in favor of telling Carl some of the most embarrassing stuff Rick had told him about the boy. Like how he had once had a fascination with rainbow boxers and black socks. How he had once eaten flowers because he saw bees and small birds settle by the flowers and how he was convinced that the only way their old dog would like him would be for him to eat some of it's kibble. Harry watched as the boy grew redder and redder until he hid his face in his father's neck. Rick was chuckling away while Lori still didn't look impressed. During the stories the little girl he had been standing next to had migrated closer.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get on with it, you're not a part of this group to be calling shots, if I tell you do somethin' then you do it" Shane was standing now and Rick stood almost immediately taking no notice to how Lori tried to pull him back down. "Or what? You'll smash my face in? Run me over with a truck? Put me in my place?"

"Fucking test me you little bitch-boy and I _will_ put you in your place" Shane stepped closer and Rick stepped in front of Harry who had flinched regardless of being used to that term already.

"Back off Shane." Rick's voice was firm and Harry could see how his back tensed up. Jacqui quickly came to stand next to him, her hands slipping under his armpit to help him from the chair. Morales's wife herded the younger children away from the fire pit and the little girl's mother came to pull her away from the two men.

"Why do you protect him? Your father never would've even stood next to something like him"

"Because he saved me when you abandoned me in a fucking hospital! Because he was the only one to help put me back together after I found my family gone, my best friend gone and the whole world gone to shit! I'm not my father, you know this so don't you dare try to compare me to him" Rick growled.

"I made sure no one could get inside of your room! If I had time I would've bought you along with me but you were safer there! I protected you, I made sure you were safe so what the fuck else did you want me to do!"

"And what do you think Harry did for me huh? Wave around a magic wand bippity fucking boppity and I was okay? He didn't have to stay and make sure I didn't crack my head against the pavement after he took me out of the hospital. Hell he didn't even have to take care of me after you ran and left, so you can show some fucking respect to the one who I owe my life to"

Shane snorted and ran his hand over his hair as he laughed.

"Your father would be disappointed to see how you turned out. Fucking friends with a cunt-boy"

"My father is dead, I don't care about the opinions of dirt"

Shane scowled sending a dark glare in Harry's direction before he spat on the ground and walked away. Harry followed his figure as it left the camp clearing and disappeared into the forest.

"Dammit Rick, he's your best friend" Lori admonished already standing then heading in the same direction Shane went. There were warning bells ringing in Harry's tired mind and he looked up at Rick seeing the man share almost the same expression. Jacqui had stepped back and now Rick took her position, his hands on Harry's shoulders and his gaze worried.

"You alright?" Harry nodded because he was, those words and curses and name calling were old, they didn't hurt anymore.

"Yea, I'm okay. How about you?" he was feeling nauseous if he had to be completely honest. Normally when stuff like this happened, it was Daryl there to help or in most cases put a fist into whoever's face. Then all Harry had to do was walk away with Daryl. He couldn't walk away, not with danger everywhere and with no resources on hand and him almost reaching the end of his first month in his second trimester. It was all wrong and all he wanted to do was play with his ring and talk to his tiny baby and Rick bless his soul saw just that and began to lead him towards the tent. It was only maybe three in the afternoon by now but Harry was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep and not for the first time wish he'd wake up and this whole shit fest was a bad dream, that Daryl would be pressed against him asleep and Merle would be somewhere getting drunk and getting into fights. That not over three fourths of the world's population died and that humans weren't on the brink of being extinct.

"I'll stay with you tonight, I won't let anyone hurt you Harry. Until we find your Daryl and even after we find him, I'll protect you as best as I can" Harry hugged Rick where he was curled up on the sleeping bag and sniffed.

"Until a mouse comes along that is" Harry laughed though it was wet and his nose was stuffy from the tears. "Until then"

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 **DH**

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This was not how things were supposed to go. Since that day he woke up in an abandoned hospital the only thought process that circulated throughout his mind was 'find Carl, find your son' and everyday he thanked whoever dropped Harry in front of him because it wasn't hard on him to admit that without the peppy younger man, he would be lost from day one or possibly dead from dehydration or something before he even left the hospital bed. He imagined finding Carl was going to be as dramatic as those scenes on the tv, with his son running up to him and he would kneel down and catch him to give him a big tight hug, and that did happen to some extent though he didn't expect to find his son playing with some little girl and when asked his mom was the reply was 'i dunno, with Shane somewhere'.

After he had gotten Harry a place to rest, some water down his throat and made sure he was warm, Rick had spent hours talking to his son, getting to know his friends and the people around camp, then finally when the sun had set perhaps two hours ago Lori and Shane appeared, though at different times. Rick had watched as his best friend adjusted his pants, tugging at the zipper and rubbed at his neck, then a few minutes later Lori came into the clearing her hands tugging her her grey shirt and smoothing out her hair. He didn't say anything and sat by the fire with Carl in his arms as Carol and Morales' wife who he learned was named Rosalina but insisted they call her Rosa for short fixed up dinner for the entire camp.

He watched as they milled around, Shane checking the perimeter and Lori asking Jacqui who didn't ever stray too far from Harry's tent if she had seen Carl. When Jacqui motioned over to where Carl sat upon his lap he could swear that he saw some of her soul leave her body through her mouth. He watched her, but didn't say anything even as she dropped to the floor, eyes wide and shocked or was that fear? Her reaction had gained the attention of everyone at camp along with Shane as well, and while Rick wasn't one for dramatics he felt a deep dark satisfaction at seeing his best friend, partner in crime since he was still a young man take a step back, eyes just as wide as Lori's and he could definitely see something other than relief for his safety in there.

Everyone watched the two of them, both open mouthed and shocked with one confused and the other unyielding. He kept his grip around Carl when the boy moved to help his mother and finally after what seemed to hours Lori stumbled off of the floor and over to him, reaching out to tentatively touch him. She touched his hand, his arm and then finally his face before latching onto him and bursting into tears. A part of him wanted to tell her not to touch him, but the part of him - the one who hated to see women, children and now apparently Harry cry made him embrace her into a hug. He had whispered loving words, told her how he had missed her everyday, how he had thought about this moment since he woke up in the hospital alone and scared. How he had dreamed about having both her and Carl in his arms once more. When someone had asked what he was to Lori, he had told them with a single glance towards Shane "Her husband".

Then he had to watch as Shane fought with himself before the man walked over and gave him a hug too, and while Rick wanted to push him away, punch him and scream about past shit, he put on his big boy pants and gave back the hug as good as he got. Afterwards Shane had left, going somewhere or the next and Rick had to tell the entire camp when Lori asked how he came to be with them. When the fire simmered down and people started to drift off in different directions to either RV's or tents he had hesitated as to where he would sleep, on one hand Harry was there unconscious and hadn't woken up since they had to stop for the third time went he got sick. He wanted to be near the younger man but then on the next hand, his wife and son were there now. Jacqui had waved him away before she climbed inside of Harry's tent after whispering something in T-Dog's ear.

He had been grateful because to choose one would have been difficult and when he had hugged Carl to him that night with Lori behind their son, the only happiness he found himself feeling was the fact that his little boy was alive and well and in his arms again. The next day and the day after and for the next few days he integrated himself into the camp, checking in and taking care of Harry with Morales and Jacqui even when Lori had asked him why he was doing it. Shane had been avoiding the camp, only coming back when he caught fish or to help refill the water bottles or check the radio for transmissions and it was close to a week before he had stormed inside of the camp and demanded who and why Harry was still in the camp.

Did unconscious not mean anything to some people?

Rick had explained exactly how they met, how Harry had taken care of him and eventually how they found themselves in the camp. He was always a level headed man, never had a quick temper and was always ready to talk things out before violence, but Shane had pushed buttons he didn't know he had. Big shiny red buttons that had 'do not push' in neon yellow. He had known Shane for maybe close to two decades, the man was like a brother to him, back when they were cops and the world was still working he would've taken a bullet for the man and go to hell and back for him as well, but as he stood there and listened to the man talk shit about Harry as if Harry wasn't the only reason he was alive and still with them.

Because of course, Shane had placed a bed in front of his door, so that deserved his praise and thanks not the man who had made sure he didn't die in a crumbling hospital, not the man who had hauled his ass up the stairs of a strange house, helped him bathe, feed him when the lethargy kicked in from the painkillers he thought were used on horses not humans, that assured him his family was safe and sound and that helped him to where he was now.

So Rick had waited for Shane to throw the first punch and then he let out most of the anger and confusion and disappointment that he was feeling from day one to know that he was left hooked up to a machine in the middle of a zombie infested hospital with on a gown and dead flowers as company. To know that his family had abandoned him and left him to rot, to know that when he finally found his family his wife and best friend were fucking, because this was his ideal life now. Work towards a goal to make his wife happy, only for his best friend to sweep in the moment he was shot and take over. He didn't blame Shane alone since Lori was the one fucking with him in a forest and leaving her kid alone just to satisfy her carnal pleasures.

He could understand her moving on if he had been dead, if he had been in the ground for over a year and she wanted companionship but he had only been missing for less than five months and already she had her legs spread for Shane. So the moment Shane's fist connected with his jaw he had sprung back and tackled him, then he hit him over and over again, watching and enjoying when his knuckles stung and how blood welled up from Shane's nose and mouth. Lori had been screaming in the background, trying to pull him off of Shane, and if she had touched him for a few seconds more, even though he had never hit a woman unless his job called for it, he would've then. Her touch felt dirty, it made his skin crawl and burn, the same touch that had once sent pleasure up his spine and down to his crotch was nothing but cold skin now.

It was only when Jim had grabbed him and T-Dog had Shane did he notice someone next to him. Harry had stared at him like he was now seeing him for the first ever, and Rick had been scared that the younger man would flinch away from his touch but instead Harry began to tease him then hug him. God, if Harry was meant to be something more to him in another life, be it lover or brother then he would burn and level the world for the man. Then of course his wife had to ruin it and then soon after Shane as well. He shouldn't have expected Shane to be civil, even before the reanimation of corpses Shane had had a temper that got him in trouble many times, but when he directed that anger towards Harry while his pregnant friend sat there looking well but not well enough, Rick had stood to the challenge ready to make him eat dirt and to make the other side of his face swell and turn a pretty shade of purple. So he had watched Shane walk away and Lori follow after him as if he was the victim there.

He wanted to make Shane and Lori hurt, to hurt them the same way he was hurting inside because the level of betrayal he felt from the two of them made him feel as though he would cry because it hurt to know the two people he had trusted so much, had given so much to in the past would do such a thing to him when he wasn't even cold and stiff in the ground. So that early evening when he had helped Harry back to the tent and the man had cried himself into a restless sleep, Rick had pulled him close and hugged him tighter as much as Harry's swollen belly had allowed and he cried as well because fuck if he wasn't hurting.

Somewhere in the night Harry had draped the big comforter that Jacqui had given him, because the woman had maternal instincts Lori could only imagine to have, over them and used Rick's hand as a pillow because Harry was just that strange. He had stayed up late thinking things over now that he knew what was going on between his wife and best man and god wasn't that a cliche. He of course would help Harry find his husband and then afterwards, if Harry decided to leave the group then he would take Carl and go with him because there was no way he was about to leave his child, the one ray of joy in his suddenly bleak life with a woman like Lori.

The next morning was hardly any better when Harry had kneed him in the guts as he tried to escape the tent in time to empty his stomach of what he ate yesterday. Luckily Amy, Andrea's sister had been stock piling on herbs from the forest and lemon balm was the newest friend of Harry's stomach lining. Lori was hovering close by him but not too close that she would have to interact with Harry which made Rick's anger raise it's ugly head again, she was also sending nervous glances, enough so that Rick would call them concerned.

Harry, after Jacqui had made him put something back into his stomach took his time to entertain the children telling them stories about magic and wizards and witches. About dragons and how he loved dragons because _Game of Thrones had the most badass ones_. Rick still never really got any of the movies and shows Harry ever spoke about but he could tell the children understood the basics, that they loved the fact he could impersonate voices and make the made up stories sound real and even though Carl had complained about him being too old for story time, it had been awesome. After lunch Jacqui had taken Carl and Sophia out into the woods for a walk while Harry and Rosa laughed about something or the next and when the screams began his heart had dropped to his stomach when he saw Carl and Sophia running into the clearing with Jacqui screaming about a walker close by.

Even though it had been a shitty week and he saw a walker sooner than he liked, when a man with a crossbow came from the tall bushes with over a dozen dead squirrels over his shoulder, cursing and kicking at the headless corpse before shooting a bolt into the head. Rick watched as the man kneeled down to inspect the dead deer muttering about wasted meat, the glint of gold around a leather chain caught his eye and a voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Harry practically hollered _Daryl_.

The ring was on full display now, and Rick could see that it matched Harry's only bigger. _Harry's_ Daryl.

Well, even if it had been a shitty week at least he found his friend's husband.

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 **DH**

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 **A/n:** Once again sorry for the long wait but you guys know how things go. I know people were looking forward to seeing Merle in this chapter but sorry nope, you guys got one Dixon brother, don't be greedy. I loved each review and really between this fic and the next two I had to clean my gmail inbox .

 **ShatteredDragon** \- Admittedly I have never watched Sailor Moon so I'll just take your opinion on the matter haha.

 **Twi's Dreamer** \- I'm glad you liked it, especially the part with Duane, but you'll have to hold out for Merle.

 **Beautiful Obsession** \- Merle will get there… eventually, really happy that you liked it~

 **Opinionated Asmodeus** \- Oooh thank you for the clarification, never knew that to be honest. Jumbo cookie for you!

 **catlyncarson** \- Aww stop it, you'll make me blush. Glad you liked it!

 **DJinTheHOUse** \- You and Harry can totally ship stuff together then, thanks for the awesome review~

And thanks to all the others who reviewed, I read every single one and I'm glad you all loved the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n** : This was really hard to write for some reason, probably the writers block and the heat. The amount of reviews, followers and favs stunned me. Reviews are like the blood that keeps us going and they were just like woah. You guys have no idea. Sorry for the delay with the writing, the update/code mess and any mistakes found, enjoy the chapter guys!

 **Warnings** : Butchering of both fictional and real facts.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead.**

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" **No crying in the boat. It scares the fish."**

 **-Andrea**

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 _Chapter Four_

Now Daryl considered himself to be a reasonable man. He liked the bluntness of a situation, of any words that person could provide because that was how he grew up; through a blunt father who spoke blunt words with a fist and sometimes a bottle. He didn't know how to respond to sugar coated words or charisma or any of that high bred bullshit that the politicians practically vomited on the tv. He believed that if something had to be said, then why waste a hundred words when you could just say it in ten.

So when he made his way back to the camp after a few days hunting, with over a dozen squirrels for Merle to clean and a deer he was tracking only to find the damn thing had been taken down by one of those fucking walking puppets one could understand if he expressed his anger in few words and more action. Yanking his arrow from the deader than dead head he was about to follow after the butt-ache that was Shane and the Slender-man that was Jim when a guy who he had never seen decided to get handsy with him.

Daryl gave him a slow once over before his gaze settled on the hand that was holding his shoulder and as if a light clicked on in the man's head his quickly pulled his hand back.

"Somethin' I can do for you, or you wanna end up like headless there?" the group already knew him as the slightly racist redneck younger brother to the very racist redneck older brother. So why not let the new guy form the same opinion?

The zero fucks he gave didn't change in the least.

The guy who looked as if he was about to start shouting 'Reach for the sky' or 'The waterhole has been poisoned!' only stared at him for a bit before muttering something under his breath.

"What was that?"

Daryl really didn't like that know-it-all smirk and how his blue eyes seemed happy to see him. The last time a stranger looked that happy to see him Merle had owned the guy over a grand and he was the punching bag.

"I said that he wasn't kidding about you" this was really pissing him off now, this whole riddle me riddle that shindig.

"My brother bragging 'bout me now?" that wasn't like Merle at all, because despite how much he loved his brother and how much he knew Merle loved him back they simply didn't brag about one another.

The man looked confused, his smirk tapering off into a frown. "No… I mean Harry"

Daryl wasn't aware of the next few seconds until he had the man pinned against a tree trunk, one arm under his neck and his knife by his jugular.

"How the fuck do you know that name? If you did anything to him I'll gut your ass" he growled and the man raised his arms as best as he could.

"H-he save me" came the gasped response and Daryl held him up a moment more before releasing him, though he still kept the knife in hand.

He watched as the man coughed a bit before pointing back in the direction of the camp, though Daryl kept his eyes on him. "He saved me a while back and more or less thanks to him we found this place"

It was his turn to frown because even if he wasn't the smartest cookie 'we' meant plural. "Who's we?"

The man looked at him strangely, his hand rubbing at where his windpipe was being pressed upon. "Harry, he's currently over there probably with Jacqui and-" fuck it if he was being rude, nothing new since he was sure he came out of his mother with both middle fingers up but he took off running before the guy finished.

He hardly felt any shame when he stumbled over a tree root and almost brained himself because fuck if he cared, he only cared that his legs wouldn't go any faster, the forest flashing past him and several yards ahead he could see the camp coming up in the clearing. He could hear children laughing, in the distance the closer he got. A few feet from the clearing he could hear someone yell something in spanish and when he burst into the clearing like a bat out of hell his eyes searching until out of all of the noise, between the laughing children, people talking and pots clanging he heard a familiar laugh.

"Daryl I need to talk to you" he brushed aside Shane and fuck his legs because they didn't want to move. Why the hell didn't his legs want to move?

Shane grabbed his shoulder again and yanked him backwards "I said that I need to talk to you Daryl"

Daryl growled and shrugged off the hand that was gripping his shoulder again "What about?" his blue was still focusing on the figure that was Harry, all lean legs and decked out in an over-sized t-shirt, it was at that very moment that Jacqui, a woman who he didn't find annoying and demanding, subtly pointed at him and Harry face full of curiosity turned around.

From where he was standing Daryl could easily see the curious stare turn and morph into shock then to disbelief. If Daryl didn't know any better he would say that this was very Disney. Not the Grimm Brothers tales that Merle used to tell him when he was maybe five or six, but the ones where he was maybe the prince and Harry though definitely male was very much a princess.

It took him a moment to realize that Harry was jogging towards him before his legs decided to finally regain motor skills and he met the already crying man half way. No one could judge him for swearing and if they did then fuck them and their ancestors. Daryl snorted and buried his face in the same corner as he did for years, savoring the feeling of just being with his husband again and when Harry reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck, he squeezed the man tighter. The only problem with this reunion was that while Harry had forever been a boney little thing, only gaining more weight in his late teens, he seemed to be doing rather well for a man stuck in a apocalypse.

"You get fat?" he grunted and behind them he heard someone groan. Harry tensed in his arms and Daryl leaned back to stare down at the man, feeling as if he had stepped on a landmine. Watery green eyes stared back, and while the expression was very familiar since he spent the first few years trying to navigate rocky waters of emotional levels to not make a young Harry wail his eyes out, at the moment he was… confused.

"Why you crying, did I squeeze you too tight or somethin'?" Harry's lip only trembled more and he wrapped his arms around the chub that he had gained. Then he smiled.

Why was he smiling?

"Why you grinning like a idiot?" this only made Harry smile wider, his face a healthy flush despite the tears. Daryl's confusion went up several meters when his hand was gently placed on the rather firm belly, his navel poking out slightly and all.

"I didn't get fat Daryl Dixon. I got pregnant" even though he was the recipient of a small glare, the smile was still on full blast and all Daryl had in him was to blink.

Suddenly the dozen squirrels seemed like an entire buck and his crossbow a fricking human.

"I… you… " he looked down and stared at where his hand was resting, his confusion melting away and another emotion came racing to take its place. Holding the side of Harry's face with his hand, thumb rubbing against a cheek he didn't remember being so tan; Daryl slowly slid down to his knees because the shitting bones felt like noodles all a sudden. He was still staring up at Harry, both hand spread out on the more than generous bulge and for the first time since this shitstorm of dead people gnawing on the living he laughed.

He laughed until he felt Harry's hand cover on of his while his other found it's way in his short hair and while Harry didn't say anything he did squeeze his hand when he rested his head where his baby was growing, hiding his shame from the people watching.

He couldn't remember the last time he cried. It certainly hadn't been when his old man died because their was no love lost between either of them, nor his mother who he barely remembered after the fire, but here he was on muddy ground trying not to choke on tears that burned like a bitch while just breathing in the scent of everything Harry.

"Fuck I'm gonna be a dad" he looked up at Harry who was nearly a blurry figure because of the fire water in his eyes. Harry chuckled and ran his hand down the side of his face, wiping away the tears and evidence of them.

"I know, so am I" he said softly, so gently it made Daryl look away and rest his forehead back on the warm belly.

"I'm gonna be dad" he chuckled at the very thought, hell at the word 'dad'. He sure as hell never had one, neither did Harry but he was a total fuck up, unlike Harry who had just smiled at him one day and his heart felt as if it grew twice it's size.

"You're gonna be the best dad ever, our kid is going to have you wrapped around their little pinky" Daryl didn't disagree, it would be useless to since they both knew Harry was right. He pushed himself up and gathered his husband's face in his hands, taking Harry's confusion as the perfect time to lay one on him. A kiss he hadn't been able to give or get in a bit over five months. He counted each day, and paid close attention especially when the world went down in flames and death. The silence around them was almost tangible and the only reason he pulled away was because Harry did so first, his eyes darting around and a deeper blush settling on his cheeks.

His husband was such a dork.

"Holy fuck… you're the husband to it" and there went his peace. He turned around, ignoring the panic in Harry's eyes and the sudden grip on his arm.

"What did you say?" he spat, all serenity and bliss gone from his person, the word 'it' ringing in his ears.

Shane laughed and the look he leveled at Daryl has the man tensing because never had he needed someone's pity and he sure as hell didn't need pity for being with Harry. "I can't believe that it's you of all people Daryl. I always thought he was lying, god knows that he's done it already, thought he was just loose and-"

Shouts of alarm all at once filled the broken silence and he felt someone pull Harry away, his husband protesting and telling him to 'stop' but he really didn't want to. Daryl stared at Shane from behind his crossbow that he had aimed at the man. Close range and aimed for the face.

"Say one more word and I'll put you down like like a cur." Shane had gone pale and he raised his hands, taking a shaky step back.

"You wouldn't kill an unarmed man Dixon."

"I killed one today on my way here, you just a bit prettier than him, but just as dirty"

"I ain't no walker Daryl, you wouldn't kill me"

"Wanna take that chance?" Shane took two steps back and Daryl took one forward.

"You say something like that about Harry and I'll beat it out of you, you touch him and I break your bones before I kill you. Consider it a warning _officer._ " Daryl lowered the crossbow but didn't step back instead he watched and waited until Shane retreated. Spitting in the ground didn't do jack but it was habit by now then seconds later he wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder still staring in the direction where Shane had retreated to.

"He talk to you like that often?" Harry merely adopted a deer in headlights expression that had had Daryl scowling something fierce.

"But Rick has my back during all of it and you know I can take care of myself Daryl" he tried to reason by pointing at Rick who was quietly talking to Carl, said boy saw the finger being aimed and tapped his father. Rick narrowed his eyes at Harry and stood, dusting off his pants.

"What?" he asked, standing nearby but eyeing the crossbow with enough wariness of a sane man, Carl just wandered off to join the other children nearby Morale's RV. Harry beamed grabbing Rick by the short collar to pull him closer.

"Daryl this is Rick, Rick this is Daryl my husband." introductions were kinda of his thing and he watched as the two men stared at one another before Rick nodded.

"I know, I'm the one who told him you were in the camp"

"You did?"

"You're the guy I nearly choked" Harry squawked.

"What!? Daryl how could-"

"Mhmm, that'd be me. Rick Grimes, former patient of your husband and deputy"

"Daryl Dixon, dubbed redneck" he replied dryly enough that Glenn who stood nearby snorted in amusement.

He stared at Harry as his head swung back and forth then towards the sky before ambling to where Jacqui was infusing what he assumed was peppermint to the boiling water. Jacqui looked up and waited until he sat down before handing Harry a cup, the peppermint strong and sharp enough to burn his nose even from where he stood several feet away. He could practically feel who was now 'Rick's' amusement and the man made his way over to the two leaving Daryl no choice but to follow.

"Never would've thought that Daryl Dixon would be married to you Harry" Harry sipped at the tea and just like clockwork burned his tongue.

"Why's that? I mean, sure he's a bit rough around the edges but he's really sweet and gentle and one day he bought me a bird for Valentine's day and I named it Louis but it escaped like two days later then he… " Jacqui laughed and placed her hand on his knee and even Daryl rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure he is Harry, but the Daryl we're all acquainted with-" she sent him a look that spoke about the volumes of beguilement she was having at his expense "-is a man of few words, but I understand. Unlike some of us, he doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve and burn his tongue even though he knows the water is hot" she sipped some of hers ignoring the mulish look and stuck out tongue from Harry.

"I'm adorable" she laughed again and gave him a smile that every indulging mother would "That I do know Harry" she gave his knee a squeeze. "That we all know sweetheart and such a cutie-pie you are" she cooed with enough sugary sweet undertones full of sincerity that he smirked.

"Cutie-pie" he got a few leaves of peppermint thrown at him but it was worth seeing the blush that crawled up Harry's neck.

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 **DH**

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While having his windpipe almost crushed wasn't ever on his list of to-do activities Rick had to admit, being pinned against a tree by a man was worth seeing Harry laugh as he did. Sure Harry was never one to skimp out on laughter or corny jokes, but the difference was easy to see now that he was glued to Daryl's side. His husband while not the most outspoken, friendly looking or generally a social butterfly opened up just a bit more for the sake of the almost hyper younger man.

Daryl was a man of few words, and Rick respected that, was glad even that the man who had wed Harry wasn't as unorthodox as he was, but the love was all the same if the hand that was wrapped around Harry was any indication. Shane was still missing but the majority of the group was around the campfire with the exceptions of the Peletier family and the Morales. Carol was a very demure woman he had noticed, her eyes had yet to meet his and her every action seemed hesitant, he may not be the brightest cookie in the box but he had arrested enough men like Ed, the ones who liked to throw their weight around and use their hands as words.

"So Harry, I know that no one wants to seem too nosy so I'll just ask. How'd you and Daryl meet?" Rick's gaze drifted from where Carol was stirring a small pot under the watchful of her husband, the full bottle of rum now close to half. That was a situation he couldn't just intrude on, regardless if it was domestic case his status as 'the law' was invalid when there was no government or laws to back it up. Instead he focused on… what her name? Ally? Amy… ? Andrea's sister, who was a lot nicer than her older sister who leaning forward and was staring at harry with such intensity he was surprised her eyes didn't begin to glow.

Harry who was snuggled against Daryl's side paused mid-sip of the all powerful peppermint tea, blinking at the rather sudden question. "That's a rather long story to tell Amy" the blonde just shrugged and made a 'go on' motion with her hand.

"Ah… well." Harry peeked up at Daryl whose eyes were closed but not asleep, his thumb rubbing circles on the enlarged belly. "I'm originally from England, born and bred, but my relatives my maternal aunt Petunia and her husband Vernon who already had my cousin that was only a few months older than I was, gained legal custody of me after my parents died, but my uncle worked for a big corporation so when I was around six we moved over here to America. Daryl was my first friend"

Amy blinked in surprise but she wasn't the only one. To be that age and only now gaining a friend at that age while not uncommon for some homes that discouraged social interactions because of class, or paranoid reasons but for Harry to have a cousin in direct relation and in the same household yet not be friends. It was honestly a bit strange even for Harry.

"You mean Daryl was your first friend outside of the family then" Harry shook his head and held up his index finger.

"Dudley, my cousin, didn't like me very much because my aunt and uncle didn't like me at all. So Daryl became my very first friend."

"But why?" Rick looked at his son who sat between his legs, Carl was nibbling on a stale cookie that Morales had snagged from the store. Harry shrugged, his fingers toying with the hem of his shirt.

"Because my mum and dad were both a wizard and witch respectfully, so my relatives didn't like magic so they didn't like me" Carl stared wide eyed at Harry, a bit of the cookie falling from his mouth before he carried the stare over to Rick. There was a bit of silence that took over the campfire for a bit before Amy giggled, then Jacqui smiled, Dale and Glenn laughed and Lori looked a bit miffed at the lie.

"So that makes you what then Harry, a wizard like your dad?"

"Nope, my magical core didn't develop as it should, so I perhaps only have a quarter of magic ability in me at the best of times. I'm what you would call a squib, then again normally squibs don't have magic so I dunno what I could be classified as… weak cored maybe? But I can still do some neat stuff even though the kick back is pretty crappy."

Even Daryl opened one eye to stare at him.

"W-What can you do? Make fireworks and stuff come out of your arms?" Harry's lips twitched and Rick couldn't help but cover his own smile because this was as good as his kid was going to get to Disneyland.

"That'd be pretty painful wouldn't it? But one of my favourite things to do is create lights, little orbs of light that float around."

"Wooooah. Can I see? Please? Dad can I see?" Rick shrugged and motioned to Harry who grinned. "Maybe later when it's really dark out kay?" Carl excitement visibly dimmed a bit but he nodded nonetheless.

"What else can you do?"

"Well since I don't have much of a magic core, my godfather Sirius and a family friend name Severus taught me potions. It's a lot like chemistry but we used this big pot called a cauldron to mix up eye of newts and three eyes of the gullwit bee since the fourth will make the potion turn blue instead of pink. Potions are mainly used in the wizarding society stuff like pepper up will make your feel energized, skele gro will grow back any missing bones or mend broken ones stuff like that"

"So what you're saying is that there is a whole other society made up of magical people that we or the government doesn't know about?" Lori looked unimpressed and Harry looked equally dispassionate about interacting with her but one look at Carl and he softened up again.

"Yupp" Rick didn't even blink when he popped the 'p' since it was just to annoy Lori even if it was obnoxious as hell "Though the government mainly the higher ups know about it. Muggles like you just don't"

"What did you just call me?" anyone now joining the conversation would have expected Harry to have called her something scandalous and Rick couldn't help but sigh since he had heard Harry yell out rather amusing profanity many times before.

"Muggles are non-magical people. People who have no association with any magical community, doesn't know about magic, has no magical core, stem, nerve or gene within their bodies"

"So we're all basically muggles then" Amy was still smiling, looking just a fascinated as Carl as did at the moment. Harry gave her another annoying yupp with the smacking of his lips.

"But isn't there like a law or something? Since only high up government officials know about your 'magical community' and all?"

"Sure there is. It's called the statute of secrecy, but since the world as a whole is burning and dead people are walking I'm sure I'll be forgiven"

Amy nodded along, her smile now a grin "Right, of course that perfectly valid reason for breaking such a secret"

"As good as any I'll say" Harry grinned back and Rick was glad to know that he wasn't the only one who snorted at the fist bump that transpired between the two of them. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, Carl's head resting on his knee and belly full of squirrel stew. This was nice, even if he knew what was lurking beyond the clearing the atmosphere was calm and cool with Carl firing away question after question, but he wasn't slow and not for the first time he gave Harry a mental applause at his evasion techniques.

"Don't get too chummy with him Amy, liars like him are only good for one thing" and of course, someone had to turn back on the reality switch and make things shitty again.

Rick watched as Shane strode over to the campfire, all confidence and seemingly having forgotten Daryl's warning and not so subtle promise of death. All eyes were on Shane now as he grabbed the bowl of stew that Lori had saved him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shane swallowed the mouthful he had gathered in his mouth, not bothering with the spoon or fork. "What'dya think. You lied to us before and now you're filling the kid's head with gibberish about magic and shit. What next you gonna tell him dragons and unicorns are real too?"

"Actually they are, but I'm sure we're about to see the not so rare sighting of asshole anytime soon, unfortunately it ain't magical."

"You'd know a lot about assholes wouldn't you" Shane sneered and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well duh, I'm sure the world is better off without your oh so amazing genes taking root in another human being if that's the best comeback you can make. Did you lose your brain cells or were you always this stupid and somehow I now realized it?" Glenn's laughter stuttered to a stop with one glare from Shane though it hardly deterred Amy from finding amusement in Harry's drawl that sounded as bored as he looked.

Shane stared at Harry for a few long measured moments, his gaze hard before smirked and turned it onto Daryl. Rick narrowed his eyes because a man like Shane didn't simply _leave shit alone_. Easing Carl towards his mother Rick kept his eye on his former best friend, and even if Lori thought his abandonment of friendship was based solely on the unjust treatment done to Harry, it also had to do with the fact that his so called best friend had been drilling his wife like a starving man.

"Surprised you ain't ask about your brother Daryl" Shane may as well have been a cat with how he practically purred those eight words. Daryl on the other hand didn't seem to take notice he had been spoken to his hand still rubbing Harry's belly.

"I thought you would y'know, since you both are close and all" this was like watching a drunk man poke a sleeping bear for shits and giggles, stupid as hell and could only end badly. This time Daryl did open his eyes, the blue eyes dark slates from where he sat looking at Shane with the expression of a man who smelled shit and wanted it removed.

"Yea and what?"

"Just thought you'd be more concerned about him that's all" Shane was baiting Daryl, everyone around the fire could tell and a voice that sounded oddly enough like Morgan's calmly told Rick to shoot him.

"I don't wipe his ass when he takes a shit, Merle is grown so yea and what"

"Considering they left him tied to a roof back in the city, I just thought I'd be the friendly neighbor and tell you since no one else will"

"What?"

Shane's smirk grew into a smile as he studiously cleaned the bowl with his finger, popping the stew smeared digit into his mouth. "When they brought in Ricky over there along with your… _boy_. They left Merle on top of the roof tied up."

People were tensing up, all eyes on Daryl and if the stories Lori had told him about the Dixon brothers then no one was expecting the revelation to end well. "Why?"

Shane looked a bit confused "Why what?" Daryl rolled his eyes and closed them again for a few moments. "Why did they leave him up there then" Rick watched as Shane floundered a bit at the question and he grunted when he realized that even though someone had told him that Merle was left behind he didn't know the reason why.

"He and T-Dog got in a scuffle and Merle wouldn't stop hitting him so we knocked him out and tied him to a metal thing with rope. You know your brother Daryl, better than anyone here, you know how he can get" this was the first time Andrea had really spoken since they all gathered around the pit and this was the first time Daryl even remotely looked in her direction. Daryl grunted but still didn't twitch beyond the hand that was gently kneading Harry's justified pot belly.

T-Dog who had just come back from collecting firewood dropped the extra wood behind Dale and dusted his hands off before dropping down next to Jacqui's seat. "I know that this might not make much difference but I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get to him. Padlock and everything"

Daryl exhaled through his mouth and sat up before he stood up, his squinted eyes now on Rick, completely dismissing the other former officer who stood a few feet away. "Then we'll go and get him then" it wasn't a question but a statement so absolute it was unquestionable.

"Right" because all he could do was agree even if he didn't have a hand in the actual leaving of said man behind.

"Rick you can't be serious" Lori hissed "You just got here, you finally found your son and me and now you're leaving again to find a man you don't even know"

"The only reason I got here was because of a man I didn't know. Let's hope the trend doesn't fail me" Rick retorted not even looking at her anylonger. Lori shook her head and stood, stomping off to the RV and slamming the door shut.

Rick stood and ran his hand through his hair sighing but he wasn't upset about his wife's departure instead he was looking at his son who seemed to shrink in on himself. "Do you have to dad? You just now came back and what if you don't this time?" Rick's lips twitched and he knelt down before Carl who immediately latched on and wrapped his arms around his father.

"I have to do this Carl, no man left behind right?" Carl only held on tighter and Rick pressed a kiss on his head as he pulled away. "I'll be back I promise, no force on earth could keep me away from you kid, you know that right" Carl nodded even as he wiped away a few stray tears. "Good boy. Now go and check on your mum for me, can you do that?" Carl nodded again and ran in the same direction where his mother had gone before, leaving only the adults.

"You really going to do this Rick? Go and risk your life over a douchebag you don't even know? Common man, you ain't you no idiot, you going to just leave your wife and child again just to impress who? _Him?_ " he pointed at Harry who blinked at the finger aimed at his person.

"Rude" Harry murmured and just because he could pointed back a finger at Shane who sneered at him.

"Nobody ain't talking to you, butt out." he turned back to Rick, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Common man be reasonable"

Rick sighed running a hand through his hair "I don't expect you to understand man, but at least respect my decision. This isn't to impress anyone, or gain any favours it's about doing the right thing and saving a man who has no weapons, food or water. It's about doing the right thing"

"What's that supposed to mean. Think I don't know right from wrong?"

Rick leveled him with a look that made Shane flinch "I think you know exactly what's right from wrong, but that never stopped you has it" he gave Shane's shoulder a squeeze and turned back to Daryl, the dismissal as clear as ever. "We'll go and look for your brother tomorrow, we'll leave at dawn and hopefully be back within a day or two" Daryl only nodded, his face not really showing much and Rick watched as he helped Harry up and out of the chair after Harry failed the first two times.

"I'll come too, don't get me wrong I ain't feel all the bad about leaving him up there but he's your brother and all. I know how that feels man. So I'm in" Rick gave T-Dog and a small smile while Daryl only sent a nod in his direction. Glenn stood up and slowly raised his hand looking unsure about the whole situation but still excited at the same. "Count me in!" how it was possible to sound nervous yet sure of yourself was a wonder to Rick but he gave Glenn a thankful nod. Glenn grinned, full on beaming at Rick and not for the first time did the former deputy wonder just how old Glenn was was.

"Holy shit you're Garth" even Daryl raised an eyebrow at his husband at his sudden outburst and Rick folded his arms and sighed when his brain began to try to figure out just why Glenn looked so horrified at the apparent accusation.

"I'm not!" Harry snickered and hugged Dary's arm to his chest while the man looked entirely bored with the conversation at hand already. "Dude yes you are. Only more asian and the setting is more horror flick than Supernatural allows it to be"

He tried, he really did try not to groan but honestly. Daryl on the other hand didn't even try to stifle his own.

"No I'm not! Why do I gotta be Garth?" Harry practically skipped towards Glenn and he wrapped his arm around his shoulder before resting his head against Glenn's with the most sober expression Rick had ever witnessed on his face.

"Because my dear boy, someone has to be Garth. Every Dean and Sam needs a Garth, and you just happen to be him. Besides, someone has to be the token sweetheart of the squad"

Was this really happening? Was Glenn about to cry over being called a fictional character? Rick quickly scanned the crowd wondering if he was the only one witnessing… whatever this was.

"Why can't I be Castiel then? Or, or Gabriel! I want to be Gabriel!" Glenn sounded almost panicked and Harry's sober expression melted away into a wicked grin.

"I'm sorry chap… you simply don't have what it takes to be an arch-angel. And plus, Rick is Castiel, don't you see those darling blues and you should see how many times he tells me 'I don't know what that is Harry' with this flat expression on his face. Sigh, honestly Garth, just be the dentist turned hunter turned werewolf you were meant to be. Embrace it"

Rick watched as Harry cackled madly and Glenn actually began to wipe away tears of frustration? The fact that there were tears to begin with puzzled Rick. He really shouldn't ask because it would only add fuel to the flames but…

"What are you talking about Harry" Glenn wailed and Harry cheered

"See! He did it again!"

Daryl just gave him a look of disappointment before dragging a laughing Harry away to their tent.

 **.**

 **DH**

 **.**

The next morning found Harry staring at the Daryl like shape who was soft talking to his belly and if that didn't just make Harry want to explode he didn't know what would. A round of making out and belly groping because as it turned out Daryl had a thing for the incubation tube his child was resting in; along with a round of real groping and Harry welcomed the world with a dopey grin and a skip to his step. After seeing him and the other off the only thing to do was to team up Jacqui and Dale to make some breakfast with the provisions they had. Two cups of peppermint tea later and he ready to take on a lion with only a sling shot… or was it a giant?

Instead he found himself not facing anything monstrous but he did suddenly miss modern day appliances like a freaking washing machine because really this was kind of depressing. Amy snorted and gave the shirt she was man handling a particularly hard scrub on the rocks.

"I miss my Maytag" Carol sighed the others could only nod, albeit a bit sadly.

"I miss my Benz, my Sat Nav." Andrea pitched in and everyone groaned, gps were obviously taken for granted back then.

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual drip filter and built-in grinder, honey."

"Oh my god… when was the last time anyone here had a cup of that god given smoky darkness?" the women sighed again and Harry could only follow.

"My computer… and texting." Amy gained this far away look in her eye that had Harry grinning because really, he missed the internet almost as much as he missed sex, and that had to be saying something. Andrea grinned as well before she leaned forward a bit. "I miss my vibrator."

"Oh!"

"I miss my Wild Boy and Moody especially when Daryl was out of town" Jacqui gasped and flicked some of the clean water at Harry who wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Carol bit her lip and Harry watched as she leaned forward, her eyes darting about before she gave them a shy smile "I miss my vibrator too" and just like that they all dissolved into giggles and laughter.

Harry had decided awhile back that he liked Carol, she was very nice, a bit too polite and soft spoken with a penchant for staring at the ground more than she stared at your face. She doted on her daughter and on more than one occasion she tried not to flinch when someone touched her, and when they did she would send a panicked look around as if searching for someone. Harry wasn't foolish and he knew that the others in the camp also realized and knew what was going on between Carol and her husband Ed. She obviously wasn't going to speak out, years of abuse would do that to someone who self-esteem and self-worth was stepped and stomped on, and even though they were a group and Harry knew that people wanted to do something, they didn't.

Reaching out he squeezed Carol's arm, a gentle touch and she looked at him startled for a moment before she smiled at him, a light blush covering her pale cheeks. Harry returned the gesture and all was well. Even though the women minus Lori had been technically subjected to laundry duty and even though Jacqui gave him a disapproving look when he sat down and grabbed a couple of clothes from the load he soothed her ruffled feathers by asking for help getting up and down.

Sigh, she was such a mother hen. Not the kind that were afraid of humans but the kind that attacked you and aimed for the eyes. Harry had a healthy respect and fear for those birds thank you very much.

"What's so funny?"

Harry wrinkled his nose, not because of how dirty and unkempt the man looked but just the general knowledge of what he did. His stance, his face and that nasty smelling cigarette that he was all but chewing. He saw Andrea roll her eyes before he plastered a smile on her face.

"Just swapping war stories Ed" and Amy was quick to agree. Harry on the other hand glanced over at Carol and all that sweet and open natured seemed to have been sucked back into an airtight bag and thrown over a cliff, all traces of happiness gone and replaced by somber quietness that was focused so intently on the shirt she was rubbing. Harry watched as he made his way over to Carol and Harry was sure everyone heard the moment she inhaled and her bones creaked from how tense she was.

"Problem Ed?" Andrea spoke up again and he realized she was trying to divert the attention.

"Nothing that concerns you" Ed grunted, sending Andrea a dirty look with a flick of his cigarette. His attention was wholly on Carol now "And you, ought to focus on your work, this ain't no comedy club"

"It isn't a bad hygiene match either but if it was you'd be winning" Harry beamed at the man, all pearly whites and shoulder gestures.

"What's that suppose to mean huh, you got something to tell me fag?" he blew another puff of smoke and he heard Carol's panicky whisper of his name.

"Ooo, can you spell it? Do you even know what the word faggot means or was that not covered when they taught you how coitus with animals" and that dear Andrea was how one volte-faced.

Carol stopped her scrubbing and was glancing between the two of then, all nervous energy and looked as if she was second away from bringing the attention back to herself. Ed switched the cigarette, throwing the old one in Carol's direction before he lit another one, taking two more steps towards Harry. A movement to his right and Andrea stood up, a wet piece of clothing in her hand.

"You know what Ed, you don't like how the laundry is done, you can always do it yourself" Harry whistled when Andrea threw the shirt at the man obliging Jacqui when she helped him up. Ed sneered and threw the shirt back to her, harder than he received it by the looks of it.

"That ain't my job missy, and I ain't talking to you" his eyes zoned back to Harry who snorted and tilted his head.

"And what is your job?" Andrea dropped the shirt and folded her arms adopting an expression worthy of an Oscar. "Sitting on his ass smoking cigarettes. Didn't you know that Harry?" she mocked. Harry himself gasped and placed a hand over his heart.

"He has two jobs then? My my, don't we have a stand up man by the river bank"

Ed took another step forward and blew smoke directly into Harry's face and if it caused him to hurl then Harry was going to make sure it was projectile enough to pain that grimy face.

"You two smart mouth bitches can shut up if you know what's good for you - you know what, common, let's go" Carol moved to stand up and Harry placed his hand on her shoulder, easing her back down.

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you Ed. In fact she's been working, let her go back to doing her _job_ " Andrea stepped forward a bit but was held back by Amy.

"I still want to hear what he'll do to us if we don't shut up though Amy. I'm curious. Maybe you think you can beat us like you do to your wife" he said it so casually that the shudder which went through Carol's body vibrated his arm.

"I don't think" Ed growled and Harry knew it was a threat but the opportunity was too easy to pass up. "It's obvious that you don't buddy"

"You heard me, I said come on" Carol stood up this time and Harry pulled her behind him just as Ed reached for her arm to grab.

Harry could see the colour rising on the man's cheeks and Carol was holding onto his arm in what could be considered a death grip. "Harry please…" Really this sort of crap seemed to happen only when the moderately sane left the camp it seemed.

"I don't think she needs to go with you Ed, in fact maybe it's best for you to go back to your job" Andrea gave him a pretty smile now shoulder to shoulder with Harry who could feel Carol's hands being pulled away from his shirt and from the peppermint smell it must have been Jacqui who was leading her away.

Ed's eyes narrowed and he gave a rasping laugh, flicking the butt of the cigarette just shy of Harry's face.

"If you think I won't knock you on your ass just cause you're carrying that thing then you ought be ready faggot"

Harry sighed, because really was it so hard to admit that yes he was a man and yes he was carrying a baby? What was with the name calling? He so did not want to pull anyone's pigtails and accidentally drown them in the lake thank-you very much.

"Give the man an award, or better yet a dictionary." snark was his best friend, sue him and his childhood, and by the look on Ed's face he wanted to do much more than sue the the rainbow socks off his feet. Maybe even turn his face into a matching mirror for said socks. Issues much?

"Carol you come here now, or you're gonna regret it later" the threat was so clear he was pretty sure that somewhere in the forest a zombie tripped and killed itself because if he thought they were going to hand over her to him now that nicotine had already murdered enough of his brain cells.

"Just so she can show up with more bruises Ed? We've all seen them, do you think we're stupid enough to let her leave with you now?"

"Ditto on what Jacqui said. You should just save yourself the trouble and hobble back to your job Eddy boy. Clocks ticking and you've only smoked about five so far for the morning. Wouldn't want those pretty teeth to get less yellow and nasty looking now would we? What would you do if you couldn't keep up the manly porker look you've been sporting, smell and all"

Looking back Harry was sure that five months before he could and would have been able to dodge the right fist to the side of his face but then again, his center of gravity was shoddy as it was even before he had a life growing inside of him. The easy part was bracing himself and protecting his stomach, the hard part was probably the pain he'd be in afterwards and explaining to Daryl just why he was going to be sporting a pretty bruise and swelling. Ah… the joys of marriage.

What happened between one minute and the next was lost to him. One second he was on his back with a numbing spike of pain racing up his spine while in the back his mind he heard someone or someone plural scream his name; and the next Amy was helping him up all worried faced, and panicked beyond repair while Shane was giving the phrase ' _I'm gonna knock you out'_ a whole different meaning.

"Well, this is certainly not how I had expected my morning to go. Blow job? Fantastic. Getting punched not so much" he hissed when Amy and Jacqui slowly eased him up both fussing, even though Jacqui was winning that race by several hundred miles, her hands running up and down his back pressing areas and asking a hundred questions per second.

No one would blame him if he leaned more of his weight against Amy and for a second he could've swore Jacqui was about to join Shane in the rather one-sided fight.

"Stop it! Someone stop him! Ed! Ed!" he blinked and maybe yea… he definitely maybe had a concussion or something. Carol was screaming now, fighting against Andrea who held her back from rushing to her husband's side.

"Shane just Stop! That's enough! Stop it Shane!" and now Amy was joining in "Harry say something!" Harry blinked again, because was he not just knocked onto his ass while being five months or so pregnant by that very same gentleman?

"Shane please… Shane please stop… just stop beating him…"

From where Harry was standing, or half leaning and yupp, back down he went since his knees rejected their job. So from where he was sitting he could see just about half of Ed's face and while the doctor part of him itched to help the more logical side, the one that was in pain could only give a mental middle finger at the bloody and broken in skin of Ed Peletier.

"You put your hands on your wife, little girl or anyone else in this camp and I won't stop. I'll hit you until your skull breaks in then I'll sit and wait until you turn before I finish beating in your fucking head. Do you understand me?"

Ed may have answered but the gurgle of a garbled word was all Harry heard from where he was painfully resting his ass. Shane grabbed the front of the bloody shirt and hauled him closer. "I said do you understand me?!"

"Yesh! Yesh!" Ed squealed and Shane stood up, his foot connecting with the man's ribs before he stormed away, looking every bit of the badass he probably was with a good dose of much needed anger management classes. Maybe his mental dialog should wait…

"Andrea let me go please! He needs me! My Ed needs me!" and then Andrea did something he didn't think she would do. A sharp slap later and Carol quieted down, eyes watery and so full of shock Harry felt just a bit bad.

"Get a hold of yourself Carol! Didn't you see what he did to Harry? He could've seriously hurt him and the baby"

"H-he wouldn't have… he only-" Andrea shook her hard enough that her head bobbed along as well.

"Carol… what would you have told Daryl if he came back to find Harry and his baby dead? Would you have gone back with a man who killed someone and their unborn child who was protecting you when he didn't even know you?" that perhaps was a low blow but it didn't make it any less true. If he had fallen wrong, there was a serious chance of internal bleeding and since there weren't any doctors and no hospital around for miles death was a real possibility. Not that he wouldn't give his life for his baby, but at five months and some he or she was still developing.

"He… he… Ed wouldn't… my Ed-" he could literally see the walls crumbling and barely holding themselves up with every glance Carol sent him and Ed who had yet to get up and was weakly calling out to Carol for help.

"Harry took that hit for you Carol." Andrea's voice had gotten progressively softer and a minute or so later Carol collapsed in her arms, strings seemingly loosened but not entirely cut before he got a pair of arms wrapped around him and the scent he now associated with Carol blanketed him.

"I-I'm so sorry Harry… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing and holding tight until her pleas for forgiveness turned into racking sobs that shook her entire body. This felt like years and years of pent up sorrow being let out and he couldn't help but place a kiss on her head.

"It's not your fault Carol, none of it is. It'll get better, abuse like that, it may take a long time to get over but you'll get there. You'll have me, Amy, Jacqui and Andrea to help you get there."

"B-b-but h-he h-hit you, your- your baby he…" she wailed again and Harry squeezed her a bit tighter.

"I'm fine and my baby is fine as well. A little sore and I'll be bruised later on but we'll both live and be alright. A couple cups of Jacqui's famous peppermint tea and some sleep and I'll be able to lift a bus off of Lois Lane in no time" she didn't laugh, and he didn't expect her to, and even though the optimist in him cheered that she would be a-okay soon, the more logical part of him knew it'd be a long time before she let another man even remotely close to her in such a private fashion again; if at all.

"Harry darling let's get you up and some place comfortable. We still have to take a look at your back" he smiled up at Jacqui and the woman smiled back, her hand rubbing the side of his face that wasn't hurting like a bitch.

"Okay mom" she pinched his cheek and Carol pulled away from him and slid into Amy's arms as Andrea and Jacqui helped him up again, both taking his weight as they made their way slowly from the lake bed and past a whimpering Ed.

"Carol…" she stopped beside him for a moment before she pushed forward even though it looked as if she wanted to drop down onto her knees and hold him. Harry watched as Ed slowly came to the realization that his wife wouldn't come to help him and just like old rusty gears he looked to Harry.

"You… you a doctor. Help me" the slurring was almost not understandable but it wasn't so much a plea for help as it was a demand. Harry looked down at the man whose name was Ed Peletier and he smiled, tilting his head so that Ed could see his face clearly.

"Not my job Missy"

 **.**

 **DH**

 **.**

A day later and Harry was really trying to not regret standing up for Carol, he really was but when your back and a bit of your side was a beautiful array of bruises and utter hurt it was a bit difficult to not wish he had landed on a rock made of freaking clouds. On the other hand Carol was staying away from Ed, both her and Sophia had moved their belongings away and were bunking with Dale, and the woman was to say the least looking less like a pretty mannequin with fear ingrained in her eyes and more like a human being. He had yet to see Ed since yesterday and the subsequent remake of LL Cool J's song.

Speaking of the nice devil she and Jacqui apparently hit it off rather well and both women were now laughing at something or the other while Carl and Sophia were playing what he thought was a hybrid of hide and seek, tag and red light, green light. To say that it looked rather interesting was an understatement because it seemed as if one of Morales' children were 'hiding' by just standing still while the others ran around screaming before someone touched them and… ugh just watching them was making him ache.

Andrea and Amy were trying their luck at fishing and had been at it for a few hours now while Shane and Lori had snuck off again at some point after she placed a kiss on her son's head and a 'stay where Dale can see you'. Not that Harry had ever been a parent before but even he could see that was kinda shoddy since there were dead people practically drooling to eat your spleen.

So far his experience in the camp could be compared to a boot camp. He was screamed at, hit, threatened, wanted to do physical harm upon another person and fuck it if he didn't want to go home. But the saddest part of it all was that the camp was his home now, since he was pretty sure his and Daryl's home was a lost cause among the general chaos that ensued not too long after the first couple dozen people began to gnaw on their neighbors and said neighbors pets. The bright side of the whole twisted story was that he found his Daryl again, made a couple new friends since his old associates were probably dead, and sure maybe he was being a little morbid but at least he wasn't going totally off the chain like the tall guy who was digging his way to victory, or maybe the center of the earth for the last three hours or so.

"Uh, Dale?" the older man looked down from his post on top of the RV, bushy eyebrows raised in question. Harry simply pointed in the opposite direction where James… Jerry? Jim? Sigh. Where the tall guy was digging.

"You may want to check on your guy over there. He seems to be uhh looking for buried treasure or something over there. Or maybe a mass grave of epic proportions or something." Dale gave him a funny look and turned around squinting before he gaped a bit.

"Well holy hell." he looked back down at Harry, a frown on his snowy beard "How long has he been at it?" Harry translated that to 'how long has he lost it' and if Harry was feeling particularly peckish for blunt horrible honesty he'd have to say 'a long, long time now' since it doesn't exactly take a shrink to see the ghost behind the tall man's eyes. Any more visible and they'd be corporal.

"Well maybe about three hours or so, can't really be sure since time literally stopped. But you should probably y'know at least make him a take a break or something. Dehydration and Heat stroke aren't things we should exactly be embracing at this point in human history"

Dale looked a bit trouble but he nodded soon enough and made his way down into the RV until he was standing beside Harry who was using the full extent of the cool shade that the metal bucket cast over the area. "Maybe you're right, I should uh talk to him, should see what's bothering Jim. See what's the matter yea?"

Of the interactions he'd seen with Dale and the others, especially Andrea, he could tell the man was full of honest wisdom. The _goodreads_ of the apocalypse with his honest opinions, calm personality and quotes to last a lifetime. If his beard was a couple feet longer he'd be a Gandalf in hawaiian print.

As Carl said; Dale was old, he knew things.

A few minutes after watching the man make his way over to Jim with a bottle of water, he came back looking even more troubled and ugh, he was so not doing this today. This superman was on vacation. Batman was just simple and plain Bruce Wayne.

"What's wrong?" Dale just shook his head and wandered off.

 _Rude_.

Twenty minutes later and the group that had descended upon the area where Jim had been digging his life away finally come down with an exhausted digger and several bemused faces.

"Heatstroke?"

Surprisingly it was Shane who answered and Harry was momentarily stunned and if Daryl was there his husband would be snorting in amusement because what?

"Yea, Jim here got just a bit too into it I guess"

Harry could only nod a bit dumbly and was this the twilight zone? Did he fall down a rabbit hole? Did Ed really rattle his brain so much that he was imaging Shane Walsh being other than hostile with a touch of homicidal towards him?

"Uh… just cool him down. Water, wet his clothes to help speed up the process, hell fan him with a book or something and he should be alright" Shen nodded and Harry along with Jacqui and the most of the group stared at Shane as he led Jim away.

"Am I the only one who witnessed this or…" Harry trailed off as the remaining group members faced him again, Lori having followed Shane along with Carol and Sophia and Carl returned back to their complicated game with the other children.

"Nope, I saw it too"

"What's happening…"

"Maybe he was abducted and that's an alien who dumping water on Jim's head"

Andrea, Amy and Harry turned as one to stare at Jacqui who shrugged, looking unconcerned. "It's Harry's fault, he's rubbing off on me"

Harry grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her "Don't tell my husband, he'll get jealous that I rubbed off on someone else"

Amy blushed and Andrea giggled as Jacqui gave him an indulgent smile and crossed her heart "And we can't have that can we. A jealous Daryl Dixon must be a sight to see"

Harry's grin turned into a full on leer "A naked Daryl Dixon is a much better one, the first time I saw him naked-" he pouted when Jacqui placed her hand over his mouth.

"Shh Harry. Shush"

Two hours later his belly was full and everyone around their campfire was sated and Harry smiled as Carol gave a rather loud laugh after she was caught off guard by a joke told by Dale. This was nice, and despite the events of yesterday and the previous days, he supposed that since this was his home he could best get used to it and all of the crazy in-laws. If everyday was like this one minus Jim falling deeper into Willy Wonka land, then he supposed it wouldn't be totally awful.

"Hey Harry, can I talk to you over by the RV real quick?" Amy was already standing and looking at him with expectant eyes. Casting a quick look at Andrea who was clutching what he thought was a necklace for Amy's birthday gift, he pushed himself up and followed the younger woman over to Dale's metal bucket.

"I was hoping you'd give me some advice on how to-" whatever it was that Amy thought he'd be a guru at was deliquesced into screams as a walker without warning or a how-dee-fucking-doo took a bite out of Amy's arm. And even as he was plunging the knife that Daryl swore him into wearing on his person into the already decaying skull of the former man only to have to quickly pull Amy out of the way of another who was aiming at her neck all he could think of was -

"Fuck…"

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 **DH**

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 **A/n:** I'm so sorry about the weird thing that happened with the updating before guys! Not much drama in this chapter and I just want to apologise for the long wait, ugh. Anyway my people~! Thank-you so much for all of those reviews! And the followers! And the favs! And omfg you people are fucking amazing. Reviews are the lifeblood of all fanfiction, it gives me liiiife. Sorry if this chapter was 'off' in anyway but for a while there Harry didn't give two shits about anything haha.

I'm honestly a bit torn about what to do with Shane because deep down I actually like him before he went all crazy and shaved his head, nookie apparently can do that to a man. On one hand, I want to kill him off, on the next I wanna smack some sense into him and keep him alive but that may just be the hunger talking so we'll see.

Someone did ask who I was going to be placing Rick with and if it was going to be RG/HP/DD, and my answer is common baby, who rocks Rick's world and has yet to appear in this story? So no, it won't be a threesome sorry my dear.

 **Special thanks to:** PokemonNarutoLover, LizzyBear54, HPSlashAddict, Sevvus, Beautiful Obsession 17, kurosakiami01  & all of the many other who reviewed my second baby!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n** : Sorry for the late update, _Stressed Out_ by 21 Pilots is my new anthem. Sorry for any mistakes found in the spelling.

 **Warnings** : Butchering of both fictional and real facts.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead.**

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" **I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes"**

 **-Jim**

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 _Chapter Five_

Harry didn't understand how people could do this in a real emergency, not that the situation he was currently eyeballing wasn't a real emergency because the agonizing screams coming from Amy were very real and the nasty looking bite on her arm was also very real and very nasty and oh my god…

Sure he was a doctor and sure they had to take basic first aid but this wasn't even his field. He studied brains and the nervous systems, the thing that kept the body being operational, that was the first or second key to survival and all that crap. It wasn't as if when he was studying some professor with two hundred degrees suddenly popped the question

" _What do you do if a nice girl from a group your husband is in gets bitten by a zombie. Worth 5% of your weekly grade.'"_

What the what? He knew he was panicking because fuck it everyone was panicking, he's pretty sure he saw a look of total surprise on the corpse's face before Shane smashed its skull in, and yupp that was a brain, that was what he specialized in not bleeding blond girls who were begging him to help her. This was not a scenario on one of the exams, zombies were not included in life and death situations- until now that is.

"Okay okay Amy shhh, it's going to be okay, I'll fix you up so well that even the rotten bastard will wonder of he really bit you" He's never told such a horrible lie in one sentence before, not that he didn't lie but usually they were much better and more believable, but at least it brought a shaky smile to Amy's face.

"It hurts Harry…" he ran his fingers through her hair, smoothing down the blond strands while the other pressed against the bleeding chunk of her arm that was gone.

"I know, I'll try to make it better okay?" she nodded and Harry paused in rubbing his hand over his face, grimacing at the sticky feeling of the blood on his hands. It felt weird like red glue only much more pugnant and hardly as fun to play with. Daryl had always given him judgey eyes when he had poured glue into his palm and allowed it to dry before he peeled it off in what could only be described as a macabre fashion.

Daryl had asked him if he had a fascination with peeling skin and he had replied that the only skin he loved was the one on Daryl's body.

Thinking back on it now, Daryl's look of wary skepticism was justified. He had sounded like a weird cannibal.

Wrapping his hand around her waist he pulled her to her feet and somehow miraculously carried most of her weight. He had noticed in movies and even in the ER that injuries sustained to the upper body sometimes had psychological effects or something of the sort, which would explain why Amy was limping.

Or maybe she had hurt her leg, who knows, all he knew was that when the adrenaline left his system he was going to have a real and proper freak out of epic proportions.

Andrea god bless her soul ran over and took most of Amy's weight from his arms the older woman already babbling, telling her sister of promises that she sure as hell couldn't keep if the only one in the camp barely even qualified for this shit couldn't.

From the corner of his eye he could see Rick and Daryl, each blood splattered and looking more frazzled than composed but at the moment he was pulling information from his brain from the days he sat in a classroom with over four dozen other people. Information that was choppy at best and completely barbaric at worst.

Looking around the camp that was turned upside down, fresh and decomposed bodies alike scattered the area with people crying, having lost a friend or family member in the short scuffle. Everything about this smelled horrible, and he wasn't even talking about the rot that burned his nose. As someone from his background with someone like Sirius having raised him it was a wonder he wasn't jumping at his shadow. Call him a quack but he was superstitious, bad signs all in a row could only produce a bad outcome.

Two wrongs really didn't make a right despite what people said, thought and wrote.

"Alright listen up, I need a blanket, a blade, some alcohol if you don't have medical then liquor will do just fine. I need the fire to get started back up to get a pot of boiling water and some rope, strong rope" commanding attention was never his thing he normally left that to Daryl who seemed to look into people's souls and make them do shit in a hurry. At the moment however the people who had gathered when they brought Amy over all scrambled in different directions to gather what he requested. Andrea had her sister's head on her lap, both of their faces pale and tear tracked. "Oh and something to bite down on" he added as an afterthought.

He had never had a sibling before, someone that held his blood, so he couldn't exactly sympathize on their level. But he knew the fear of losing someone, that he did understand. Dale came back with a slim rope and white rum placing them both on the blanket that Jacqui spread out next to Amy's trembling body. Kneeling down was much easier with his body pumping enough epinephrine he felt almost weightless, he felt high, he could hear his heart pumping.

Was that good sign or bad one?

He rubbed down Amy's arm with water then alcohol apologising when she whimpered from a few drops of the rum running into the gnawed on wound. Daryl, his sweet Daryl dosed his own hands in it, taking the rope from Harry's hand before he he wrapped it around the pale flesh and tied it snug enough that her skin began to crease.

"Be careful!" Andrea hissed and Daryl just ignored her, because he was an ass like that. The sardonic side of Harry's brain wondered if she thought Amy was going to receive a shot of the shits and giggles and then her arm would be magically fine. Didn't she realise that she was going to witness someone chop her sister's arm off?

"Oh god this is like a bad take on Rambo and I have no idea which character I'm playing" he muttered to himself.

Shane and Rick apparently took Scouts 101: How to be a Badass in the Apocalypse, because the blade was already in the boiling water, being stirred around methodically, while the other man was wiping down a cutlass with another bottle of rum. It was always amazing how when they were low on food the liver killing liquids always seemed to multiply.

Shane was the one who brought the cutlass over, it's surface dripping with the strong booze.

"You want to do it?" at least he didn't dance around it. Harry shook his head and scooted to the side, closer to Amy's head. Andrea was beginning to look startled and Amy had a grim understanding in her eyes now, her body tensing up when Shane kneeled down in the same place Harry had just occupied.

"W-what are doing with that" Andrea knew exactly what was happening but as always denial was stronger than any logic.

"We have to remove her arm Andrea, the virus, infection whatever you want to call it is already in her bloodstream and I'm not even sure if we remove it she'll come out uninfected and won't turn later on. But the fact that she hasn't yet is a good sign. Removing the infected limb decreases the chance of the virus taking over and shutting down her body. We have to do this Andrea"

Andrea was staring at him as if this was the first time she was seeing him, then a moment later she shook her head, the blond hair that was riddled with leaves and specks of dirt from the fight earlier flew from the ponytail it was in.

"There has to be another way, you… you can't cut off her arm! That isn't how we do things anymore! We have medical facilities and proper ways of doing operations like this, we can't just- just chop it off!"

"So we leave her like this then and wait until she breaks out in fever and then turn. Then you'll put a bullet in her head" it was weird hearing Shane as the voice of reason.

"Shane!"

"Dude that was uncalled for"

"Don't listen to him Andrea, you won't have-"

"Yes she will! She's talking about hospitals that aren't anywhere near here, medicine we don't have. This is the only option. Remove the dead limb and cauterize it to stop blood loss"

Andrea shook her head again and hugged Amy's head. Harry remained silent because he knew that even the laws of family consent if the patient was unable to make a decision, it was still up Andrea if Amy didn't speak up soon.

"She's my sister, I can't allow you to take her arm off as if she's an animal!"

"Then when she turns you kill her. If my brother or sister had to die I would rather they died as human, not one of those things"

Andrea turned teary eyes towards Harry and he could practically see the stubborn denial melt away.

"Harry please don't… not to Amy…" Amy squeezed her older sister's arm and Andrea looked down.

"It's okay 'Drea, you're here to protect me aren't you?" everyone else that was looking on was lost to meaning behind the simple question but it seemed to restart the sharp-tongued logic that Andrea had showed when they dealt with Ed.

Harry placed a thick piece of wood between Amy's lips, making sure she was biting down on it. Rick was still manning the blade by the fire while T-Dog and Jim grabbed one of her legs each. Daryl kept the rope drawn tight around her arm, angling it so that Shane had a clear view of where he had to cut. Harry grabbed ahold of her shoulder and Andrea went back to soothing her.

Without even a countdown to prepare her Shane brought the cutlass down.

And holy shit there was so much blood. There was a river of blood just welling up and over the cutlass, and for a moment he felt as if he was in a R-rated extreme episode of Man vs Wild.

Her screams were still earsplitting even with the piece of wood between her teeth and as a reflex her entire body jerked. If it wasn't for the other holding her down she would've moved before the cutlass had finished sliding through the meat of her arm. Andrea cried with her sister and even if Harry picked a profession such as being a neurologist, something that dealt with the brain and the nervous system and ailments to them both he'd never been a part of a surgery.

Never had to dissect a human being and poke at their squishy bits, never had to amputate someone's limb and then smile at them when they were one, two or all limbs short and tell them it would be okay. He wasn't squeamish about blood otherwise he would've been eaten since day one but seeing how easily the cutlass had sliced through her skin then the meat of her arm was a bit disturbing.

Especially when the blood began to flow and squirt.

If he wasn't so busy holding Amy down he might've followed Glenn and puked.

Believe it or not, removing her arm was going to be the easy part and he really wished they had something besides the butt of a gun to knock her out with. Switching places with Shane he grabbed the stump of an arm that he been cut above the elbow just to be safe.

Touching it sent Amy into another round of screams and he blinked his eyes clear when tears gathered in his eyes.

"Sorry" he apologised then dumped a good portion of the rum over the naked flesh. He had never seen someone's wound foam before but before he could ponder on it too long Rick came over, the blade tinged red.

From the medical part of his brain seeing someone cauterize an open wound was intriguing. It only took seconds for the interior of her arm to be seal by the heat, and he applauded her because she had yet to pass out even if she looked to be close.

This would be intense for anyone male or female and here she was, sweet Amy taking it like Rambo. Or maybe it would have been better if she was unconscious.

Her flesh hissed and after the fifth time Rick had to place the hot blade over the open wound he dropped it. Then it was Harry's turn again to douse the seal limb with more alcohol and he wondered which was more painful - the transition of turning into one of the dead or having your arm chopped, burned and repeatedly having white rum thrown on it?

The single pack of bandages they had were wrapped around the remaining stump and because Shane was switched for creature who was polite and helpful the man lifted her up and took her into Dale's RV, Andrea close behind holding onto her one remaining arm.

Looking around he could see the people begin to separate the bodies of the fresh dead from the decomposing corpses, the contrast barely there with one exception of the fresh bodies being cleaner than the dirt riddled cliche horror movie brain eaters who decided to be spontaneous and divert from the script by not eating brains.

Dale had followed Andrea and Shane into the RV with Amy, and Glenn was still looking a bit green. T-Dog was whispering something to Jacqui and Rick was hugging his son while Lori looked on. The RV door slammed shut and Harry turned to watch Shane stare at Rick and his tiny family, seeing the man's forehead crease before he stormed off towards the piles of bodies.

Harry blinked when the spot where the severed arm should have been was missing, squinting when he didn't remember anyone taking it up.

"I remember now…"

He turned towards Jim raising an eyebrow and dreading to hear the answer to his next question "Remember what?"

Jim raised Amy's detached arm by the stiff fingers, the flesh already tinged blue and rigor mortis set in. No one would blame Harry for taking a step back from the man and Jim despite his height the somber expression and cloudy eyes showed that he was in his own world now.

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes"

And if that wasn't some ominous stuff Harry didn't know what was.

Maybe he should've tried to take the arm away from the man, but what could he do it with exactly? Adding to the fact that the man had just pulled some Supernatural bullshit in saying that he went a bit crazy earlier because he saw death in his dreams deterred Harry more than nefarious crimes Jim could pull with an infected arm.

Anyone who said they saw death in their dreams should be eyed warily and oh my god-

"This is some final destination _bullshit_ "

"What are you talkin' about now?" Harry turned to Daryl and clung to his husband for once not in theatrics but at the very real fact he had assisted in amputating then cauterizing someone's arm, and maybe he felt just a bit bad that he was happy it had not been his Daryl's own. Daryl hugged him back as much as he could with their kid between them, all oblivious to the world around it while leaching Harry's energy and destroying his perfect bladder control.

And there went the adrenaline.

Daryl wrapped his arms around Harry tighter went he sagged, slumping forward and suddenly bone tired. He didn't know why, all he did was partially save a girl from having her throat ripped out before he orchestrated the half torture, half arm removal from said girl.

"This is really messed up."

"It is."

"I want this to all be a very bad dream and for you to be waking up next to me in our home with Merle crashed on the couch with two black eyes"

Daryl made a noncommittal noise steering them in the direction of not the fixed and uprighted tents but the RV Rick was sharing with his wife and Carl.

"The tents were a choice but everyone is bunking up now incase of another attack. They have the room, don't worry"

Harry received a hug from Rick the moment he stepped inside and Carl lingered close by eyeing his stomach with open interest. Pull-out couches weren't a new thing to Harry and he groaned after he changed his clothes and sunk into the mattress. Tomorrow they would bury the dead, but until then he intended to fully use the mattress to it's fullest potential and sleep until his baby kicked him awake.

He felt Daryl shift beside him where he had the man's arm trapped under his head. "Why're you still awake?"

Poking his finger through one of the many holes in the vest he traced the collarbone of the only man he had possibly ever loved intimately and perhaps was going to be the only one, as sappy as that sounded. "You need a new shirt"

He could feel the eyeroll from where he was lying but his human pillow remained silent. His husband wasn't a man of many words seeing as how their very first encounter revolved around Harry introducing himself and the mini version of Daryl shrugging while looking scandalized that Harry was so close to him.

The RV was almost quiet with only the soft murmurs coming from Rick and Lori in the main cabin down the short walk hall and Harry took his time to just take in Daryl. His hand roamed over the tight cords of the man's body before he shifted so he could see his face. Daryl the big creeper was already looking at him face indifferent even if he was on the verge of being sexually harassed.

His hair had gotten longer since the world gave everyone a big fuck you and fucked itself off a cliff, but his husband even if he had a few more scars and was perhaps a bit thinner compared to before he was the same. Even his eyes that were annoyingly squinted from his youth were still the beautiful blue Harry had fell in love with.

"That girl is going to die" he tucked his head into the crook of the neck he was so familiar with, and a thousand memories of how he marked it with kisses, bites and hickeys came back to him. How when he cried there and Daryl the magnificent bastard knew that he did not need any consoling words just a firm hand to ground him.

"Amy" it wasn't a question as to whom more of a way to prompt him to continue.

"We may have saved her from turning, the infection from the walker was stopped but Dar' we don't have any antibiotics, morphine, painkillers, not even a fully stocked first aid kit, we're out of bandages and when she wakes up she's going to be in so much _pain_."

"Any close by hospital or medical facility may either be overrun or completely stripped clean, food is low and conserving energy is going to be a priority soon if we don't find some. Her body isn't going to be able to fight a common cold right now much less an infection that is going to tear her body apart."

Daryl tugged him close enough to brush a kiss on his forehead.

"We should've… it may not have been _right_ , or humane under any once upon a time laws and Andrea would've been devastated but Dar' we should've, we should have-"

"Killed her"

"I know it may sound heartless but Daryl she'll die in so much pain and I-" his lips were pinched together and Daryl's expression morphed from neutral to the frowny thing he did that made him look imposing. Harry loved that look but right now all he felt was gut deep exhaustion and guilt.

"You need to focus on yourself and our kid, you saved that girl and gave her a chance to spend even if just another day with her sister, something that not many people got to do."

"I know but-"

"But nothing Harry. What happens, happens, we can't save everyone even the those who deserve it"

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 **DH**

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When he got back to the camp he was going to kill them. Each and every single one of those fuckers who left him on top of the god forsaken roof with only a fucking saw!

What the fuck was he supposed to do with that anyway?!

"Oh wait just lean to the side and lemme remove your fucking face!" Merle kicked the limp body of a walker he had just put down and he watched as the head ripped away from the neck a bit.

He was gonna hack them into itty bitty pieces, grab his brother and then find the most expensive and old as hell bottle of bourbon to celebrate his victory because those people, the so called group he was with that tied him up with rope just because the black sissy had gotten his feelings hurt from him using the 'improper word in today's society'.

He hardly had cared when they tied him up since they tied knots like retarded toddlers and he could've done with a tan anyway, but when he saw the van pulling out from the building after the fucking brady bunch had surrounded it he-

Well they had him fucked up.

He felt more fucked than that time he was ganged up on in prison, not one of his best moments but he gave as good as he got.

Actually this whole situation with abandoning his ass on a roof in an overrun city had him more fucked up than the time Lila Jenkins dumped him in eighth grade in front of the whole cafeteria.

She got hers though when her newest boyfriend gave her chicken pox two days later.

Bitch.

It was a lot harder to look for marked trees when the sun was still giving them the middle finger and the moon was being an ass by not providing much light. Squinting he rubbed his fingers over the indention that marred the bark, then by the grace of his balls he saw another a few feet to the right.

He wondered how his little brother reacted to the news, maybe he smashed in that curly haired fancy pants police-dick's face for him. Walsh and the black sissy should just bump uglies and be over with it, they would make a cute couple since they both whined and bitched like the whiniest bitches around.

Finding another mark was easy enough after the first two and from where he stood Merle could practically smell the murder.

And he'd do it with a fucking saw because despite everything he was an optimist and he was optimistic about murder so it all worked out. The amount of nasty he had to go through to even make it out of that god-forsaken city was enough to almost make him want to repent.

Almost being the key word.

He'd never asked God for anything before, not even when his father started to smack both him and Daryl around, not when their mother burned and shit got even messier. So he sure as hell wasn't going to ask him for any favors now the world suddenly went into the deepest levels of shitdom.

 **.**

 **DH**

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Daryl was staring at the pastel white ceiling of the rv because frankly he had nothing better to do at shit o'clock in the morning, but apparently Harry did. Turning his head to the side he looked at the slight indentation that was left in the mattress, the only sign that he hadn't hallucinated the whole thing yesterday and that yes his husband had really been asleep next to him.

His week had been ridiculous, somehow he had gone from searching for his brother, to having a mexican showdown with latinos who looked like gang bangers but were actually taking care of elderly people. Rick then proceeded to give them half their weapons before they high tailed back to the camp to fight off a wandering horde then only to perform an amputation.

It wasn't any wonder where Harry had gone off to before the sun even decided to haul it's fiery ass over the horizon, Amy, true to Harry's words had been crying out in pain close to the entire night and if Daryl hadn't once slept in a car with Merle while a horde passed by around them he might've lost sleep.

Hell his childhood prepared him for the last few months better than any event in his life, his mother and father screaming at one another, the bloody fights they had, the angry sex that followed after, him getting lost in the woods and surviving on the fucking land like a hippie and then the roaring of their house going up in flames with his mother inside.

He knew affliction. He had seen, heard, tasted and felt it firsthand and while he considered Amy to be a decent girl the idea of knocking her out wasn't too far outside of his sometimes dubious morals.

Not everyone could take the sounds of her cries which at this point leaned towards the moans of a dying person, Lori being one of those people had asked Rick multiple times to _do something_ , what? He didn't know. Carl had apparently slept soundly enough seeing as how Morales' wife had gathered all the children and hid them away like a dragon protecting it's horde. Not that a little gore would kill the boy since he saw the adults bash in heads on what Daryl thought to be a bi-weekly basis but shelter the youth and all that bull.

"He should do something! He's the one that told Shane to chop her arm off like she was an animal!"

"Lori we've been through this, if Harry hadn't done what he did then maybe Amy would have died and then reanimated. It was the safest choice"

"To what? Make her suffer? Boost his ego maybe to show the rest of us his fancy doctorate? That girl is in agony and he isn't doing anything! Carl will wake up and he'll ask, do you want to tell him?"

Daryl closed his eyes and rolled over onto his stomach wishing that the two in the cabin would realize that yes the rooms were separated but no the RV did not have sound proof partitions.

"Lori best case scenario she fights the fever and infection with what little medical supplies we have and then we can try to find antibiotics and stuff for her but… no one expects her to make it. You have to understand this was more about giving Andrea and her more time with each other, to let her go on her own time rather than to have a bite decide when, where and how"

At least Woody the cowboy had the right idea in his head.

"But Rick, you have to see how-how horrible this is. She's suffering, has been crying all night and what did we do? We slept. If he had decided to remove her arm then he should have a backup plan to deal with this. She could've been spared all this pain if he'd just let her die. What about Andrea, do you think this is easier on her now than it would've been last night?"

If Daryl had to choose between a quick death and a drawn out one he would choose the latter. The longer he got to stay with Harry the better. It was sappy yes but that was their reality now. Anyday one of them could end up like Amy and if he had to choose he'd gnaw his own arm off first before he was separated from Harry even a minute early.

This was the sort of sappy shit he could only say in his head, if Merle had the chance to hear him he'd be given a strange look then called a pussy because 'married life had him by the balls'. He couldn't even say things like that around Harry much less Merle.

"I'm not saying that it was the best call Lori but Amy wanted it, we should at least resp-"

"Respect what? We're not savages Rick! There are rules that make us human and removing someone's arm so they could have a few more hours to live in _agony_ ain't one of them!"

"What do you want me to say huh? That I should've stepped in and allowed her to die last night? To let her turn? Let Andrea be the one to put a bullet in her head after her younger sister reanimated like a sideshow freak? Lori how could I make that decision for them?"

"There are laws tha-"

"There no more laws Lori! I'm no longer a cop! This uniform doesn't mean anything now because the world is no more! Amy wanted to _live_ , Andrea didn't want her sister to die like that and Harry provided a solution. The outcome may not be favourable but it's not our place to decide who lives or dies Lori."

"Rick-"

Daryl slammed the door to the RV shut, taking a long drag from the cigarette before exhaling, the smoke curling and blending with the fog that covered most of the camping area. He rather his lungs rot than to listen to that whiny shit. Looking around camp he noticed people were already up, several he didn't know nor cared to for that matter; it looked as if they were packing up to leave.

Harry would call him a grinch but- good riddance, a dozen less mouths to feed and protect. Looking towards Dale's RV he could see three silhouettes hovering over where he assumed the bed was and where Amy had to be.

He had never considered himself a selfish man for the reason that he had had very little to hoard as a child. He couldn't even get angry when his parents gave Merle more attention because they had never really held up to the title of 'primary caregiver'. Even when he had met Harry and the feeling of gaining someone that had just as little as him- companionship, was blossoming he had already made peace with the fact that one day Harry might leave their tiny circle for something better.

Decades later and Daryl realized just as he was hauling a dead deer back to the camp that he had become a changed man. Comparing his childhood to what he had now was like comparing Merle to Gandhi, there were no similarities what so ever.

Harry was his in every way and his husband was currently carrying a piece of them both inside of him, his kid be it boy or girl, and since he was being so honest with himself while dragging a dead animal behind him Daryl admitted to himself that he had become a very selfish person.

Harry was his treasure of all treasures in his small aggregation and it was tugging on a very sensitive nerve ending that every time Harry tried to do good those people saw it as a way to throw it back into his face. It rubbed Daryl the wrong way and normally when something rubbed him in a way that was not Harry Black-Dixon it ended up beaten black and blue.

He didn't have anger issues, he just held anger toward people who had unwarranted issues against Harry.

"Ed I'm sorry!"

Daryl paused to stare at the woman Carol who reminded him of everything his mother should have been, then he looked down to the mess of a human that he guessed was once her husband. The body was mostly eaten to the point that it couldn't move, both legs gone and only an arm remaining on the half there torso. Dropping the buck he made his way over, standing just a few short feet away from the revived corpse.

"Want me to do it?" he had been told numerous times that he lacked subtlety. He never argued.

Carol looked up, her eyes as red and puffy as the rest of her face. She stared at Daryl for a long moment as if trying to remember who he was through the haze of grief, and Daryl had no intention of pulling her from it. Grief was always a thing to be had, even if the one you were crying over was an abusing asshole.

"I-I…"

She looked back down at the snarling carcass and fresh tears sprang back up "I don't… I don't know- I don't…"

Stalking over to a pickaxe he grabbed it from where it was half buried under some turned gravel before he held it out to Carol who looked back and forth from him to it.

"I-I c-can't p-please I c-can't"

"This is the last time you'll be able to see him after this, the last time you'll be able to tell him all of that bottled up stuff you're holding in"

"W-what how… how'd you"

Daryl shrugged and dropped the mining axe next to her leg. Carol stared at him again and he tried not to let the tears intimidate him; crying women always made him uncomfortable.

He watched as she shrunk in on herself then she straightened, her hand grasping the axe as she stood. The first blow was shaky and it only struck the what used to be her husband in the neck. The other hit was a bit less so and got him in the jaw. The one after that struck home making him step back when blood squirted out and the remains of Ed went still.

Daryl took a few more steps back when Carol swung out again, the blood from the pickaxe flying when she tugged it from Ed's skull only to replace it there again, and again and again.

It wasn't hard to see even if she never screamed hateful words or curses at the now pulverized head, but Daryl saw it for what it was; her way of giving her husband a big ass final fuck you.

Seizing his buck by the antlers Daryl left Carol and the remaining piece of meat that was once Ed Peletier. He didn't really know her but she seemed like a strong enough woman.

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 **DH**

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Harry could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him in the worst possible ways. He had gotten a few hours of sleep and Daryl bless his squinty eyed soul had been so tired himself that Harry's clumsy escape from the pull out mattress went unnoticed.

His back was killing him and he had a headache that was fighting for first place with his spine to see which one would snap first, and if he wasn't trying to play doctor in a field that wasn't his own then maybe he'd join in with the crying festivals that Andrea and Dale were partaking in.

Amy was finally down, asleep if not restless and clearly pain filled, but the half bottle of vodka Harry had tipped down her willing throat was enough to knock her out until her shabby immune system decided that her fever ridden body had enough rest and wake her back up into a burning reality.

Her fever had been steadily climbing since last night and every conscious person in the RV knew that if it didn't drop soon then push would definitely come to shove.

Harry knew that it wouldn't go down, not with the way things were looking. She had an infection on the severed arm, an infection that was wreaking havoc on her body that lacked all the essential antibiotics to help it fight. At this point a common cold was going to be the equivalent of pneumonia. The times that she was conscious she was hallucinating, delirious and crying even when she couldn't cry anymore.

She called out for Andrea and the parents who were no longer there and between dry heaving she begged God to make it stop.

"Andrea…" the blond looked up from where she was holding onto the pale hand of her sister, her teary eyes almost blazing with emotion.

"No." that one word held so much meaning that Harry felt as if he was in the wrong for bringing it up.

"Andrea you have to at least consider-"

"I said no! She's not going to die! Amy was-is a strong girl, she always has been, this isn't any different"

"Andrea we don't have any medicine left, she needs amoxicillin and analgesic like morphine not alcohol. Her fever can't get any higher and if it does she may slip into a coma from brain damage"

"Then we'll find some, people may be keeping a stash to themselves you have to ask around"

"We already did Andrea there's-"

"Then ask again! Stop standing around doing nothing and do something useful to save my sister!"

"Andrea I can't, there's no more medicine and without it she'll-" Harry flinched when Andrea stood up so quickly the chair she was sitting it fell backwards. Her came up and for some reason this reminded him of a deja vu moment.

Dale seemed to snap out of his perpetual state of sadness as well just in time to grab her hand "You should go Harry"

He didn't know if he was lacking in judgement because he was so tired or because he just felt so sad because Andrea had a point, his hovering and spewing medical facts weren't going to help Amy.

"Andrea I'm sorry please let-"

"Get out!" Dale tugged her back to his chest where he had his arms wrapped around her body whether it was to hold her in place or for comfort Harry didn't know but this time he followed their instructions and left, closing the RV door as quietly as he could.

He didn't need superman's ears to hear the gut wrenching cry that came from Andrea, because even if she did have a stubborn streak a mile long, she wasn't so ignorant to the fact that her baby sister was going to die before she did.

Harry groaned and rubbed his hands over his face just a tad too furious if only to abate the gnawing fear, panic, fatigue, hunger and mother-effing pain that his body was in because how the hell did something that was so tiny weigh so much?

"Baby you're getting too heavy for me" his kid just turned over, Harry knew because he felt the child that was more Daryl than him ignore him from the inside.

"Well aren't you just a rude little monkey" he pat his belly murmuring a good morning to his insufferable baby who didn't bother with a good morning kick to his bladder. Should he be miffed about that?

"You're up a little early aren't you sweet heart?" Peering up Harry flung himself at Jacqui as much as someone in his position could do 'flinging', wrapping his arms around her neck and his face shoved directly above your bosom. Jacqui just went along with it and returned the hug, smoothing out his imaginary ruffled feathers then penguin danced them over to the chairs so he could sit down.

"Jacqui" he whined and the woman only sighed and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"How 'bout I make some tea? T-Dog has a few bags of jerky he split with me we could use that for now until your man is finished dissecting that deer he caught" Harry looked down at the fire and to the pot that was already steamy, the water and peppermint leaves no quite churning but nearly.

He squinted his eyes at Jacqui who gave him a serene smile "Something wrong Harry dear?"

"Nothing that I can convict you with notwithstanding the fact that I wouldn't 'cause then who would make me tea, and give me belly rubs and tell me that no I'm not silly some people really are turds"

Harry pouted when the amusement on her face only grew for her to have to cover the smile. "Jacquiii" he was whiny the universe could suck it.

"I'm sure Daryl will have all of that covered even if I'm not here sweetheart" Harry shrugged.

"But he doesn't do it the same way you do. Your tea tastes like love, as if you poured some into it like how the powerpuff girls were made, his just tastes like the leaves rebelled against the water and the water won" he could totally throw in a star wars reference but that took too much effort and brain cells.

Jacqui chuckled, taking the ladle and filling up a cup with the the steaming infused water that smelt like love and not bastard. He loved Daryl to death and the great beyond but how the man managed to turn something as pugnant as peppermint into nothing more than water with floating leaves he'd never know.

Placing a small bag of jerky on his leg she sat back with her own cup, blowing it before taking a dainty sip.

"You do know that the general rule is that stress really isn't good for you or the baby Harry" she sipped at the tea again, chewing a piece of the dried jerky slowly. Harry tapped the side of his cup with a short slightly mauled nail groaning when the tea though hot, hit a spot inside of him that made him melt.

"I know" Jacqui hummed and snagged another piece, Harry followed her example though a lot less yoda and more chastised child.

"I…Jacqui I can't do anything to help her and she's in so much pain and maybe the bite wouldn't have turned her, maybe I just overreacted and now that sweet girl is going to die because of a mistake I made in a field where I only had the a basic training in and…I don't- I can't do anything"

Jacqui was silent for a long minute and just as he was about to look up from his steaming cup her face popped up next to him. Her cup temporarily abandoned on the tree stump that was the new unofficial side coffee table and her jerky in her pocket.

He stared into her brown eyes, anyone else would call them normal but he loved them, they held so much compassion, tenderness, freaking kindness that sometimes Harry wondered if Jacqui really belonged in such a stupidly fucked up world.

"You know… after most people in the camp realized that Amy was bitten, no one expected her to live past last night. Hell nobody even thought to try and save her much less raise their expectations on her liveliness but you did, you saved her and gave her a chance to be able to _fight_ and Harry that girl is fighting, she's using that chance that you gave her to live. Without you she would be a corpse, dead and cold but at least, even though she's in pain she hasn't given up."

"But Jac' she isn't getting any better, without antibiotics, a proper change of bandages, a sanitized environment that offers a lack of stress that comes with freaking zombie, proper nutrition she has no chance I-"

"Did you best. You did more than any of us even thought to do. Before you gave the suggestion everyone was just standing there, sad faces as if they were about to have a funeral. It's not your job to save anyone Harry, it isn't your job to place all this blame on yourself when her own sibling couldn't do anything but cry. I understand that she's in pain, but she could also be very dead. Andrea has more time with Amy because of that; and though it may not be the best of situations I wish I had more time with my brothers before this"

"I'm sorry…" Harry murmured, leaning into the hand that was placed on his cheek. This was what a mother's touch felt like, or even an older sister.

"I'll see them again I know I will"

"But I just feel so useless, like I don't know where to go after this, after what I did. How can I look Andrea in the eye when it was me who caused her sister all of that agony Jac'?"

He winced when Jacqui pinched his cheek. "Andrea could've told you no, as the only family member of Amy she could've objected to it but she didn't. If you want to play the blame game then you blame Andrea as well. You blame Amy who could have told you no as well, you blame Shane who was the one to amputate her arm, you can blame Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and you can blame me as well"

"B-but- Jacqui no I can't! They were only helping and you- you didn't even do anything to Amy how could I blame you?"

"Then how can anyone blame you for helping, or blame you for doing something."

Harry was stuck and Jacqui because she was in her Yoda-zone smiled as if she knew it too.

"Harry sweetheart, the only thing that you need to do is take care of yourself. You don't owe anyone anything, no one can make you feel guilty of something that helped when no one else could."

She placed a hand on his belly, rubbing the side that always seemed to hurt the most.

"This baby is the only person in this world that you should worry about. This little life that is so dependent on you, that will depend on you more than Daryl until he's ready to leave the nest and baby boy even then he'll always come back. I would include Daryl as well but I'm pretty sure he would tell you the same thing in two words or less"

Harry chuckled and placed his hand over her's leaning forward to give her a hug that was returned twice as fierce. Jacqui turned her head and placed a kiss on his cheek and when Harry began to cry she just remained as she was until he was finished.

"You think it's a boy huh" he asked after they went back to their cooling teas. Jacqui gave him a look that clearly read 'boy please' that made Harry laugh.

"I think so too, but I think that maybe Daryl is rooting for a girl" he rubbed his stomach where he could feel his baby awake and moving but thankfully not play rugby.

"Well he'll have plenty more reasons to try again and again _and again_ " she drawled and Harry blushed up a storm enough to make the normally serene Jacqui burst out laughing, her warm tea splashing over the rim of the cup.

It really didn't help that Daryl seemed to have a radar for when he was being teased, appearing sans shirt. Jacqui laughed herself silly and Harry buried his face into his tea ignoring Daryl's questioning eyebrow about why his face was so red.

Then of course that was the universe's cue to turn their peace into a screaming match with someone shouting in spanish about Merle. Harry sighed watching as Rick burst from the RV, Shane from another one and T-dog taking up the rear. His husband looked relieved that his brother was back before his expression morphed into the constipated one he got when it came to dealing with Merle's shit It was only when Morales wife came running towards them tear stricken and screaming

"¡Ayuda! ¡ayuda! Daryl detener a su hermano! ¡Está lastimando a mi Manuel!"

Did Daryl summon the energy to go where his magnet for trouble brother was.

"How 'bout we sit this one out Harry" Jacqui suggested and poured herself another cup.

Harry snorted and relaxed back into the chair with his stomach acting as a table for his jerky and tea, he watch from a distance as Daryl and Shane parted the fight between Morales and someone who looked like Merle only for his brother-in-law to jump and attack T-Dog.

Jacqui didn't even look bothered by the fact the man who she was dating? Sleeping with? Sharing her chambers with? Was being attacked, only taking another sip of her tea.

"Everything will be alright Harry, I would be angry too if I was left on a rooftop. Anger does these things to people"

Harry blinked, watching as she took another calm sip of her tea and all he could think was 'fucking Yoda'.

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 **A/n:** I apologise for the wait again but I've been so stressed that I really didn't want to write, much less look at a document. After a long wait you guys finally get your other Dixon *cheers*Forgive any mistakes in the lil spanish line as well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n:** Sorry for the very very late update, this year so far is kicking my ass. Sorry for any mistakes found as well.

 **Warnings:** Some racial stuff, some Lori stuff, some sex stuff & some other stuff.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**

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" **We don't kill the living"**

 **-Rick**

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Chapter Six

Sometimes he liked to look at the world through rose coloured glasses. To see everything as funny, exciting and pleasant. As not fucked up beyond reparations where people were willing to kill one another instead of the real issue of walking corpses.

Now call him old fashioned, silly or even naive, but Harry found every cell in his body loving the all out brawl that had started with a red neck and a mexican but now included all of the other ethnic groups that made up their ramshackled group.

Watching T-Dog get bodily thrown across the dirt clearing was amusing and maybe he would've felt bad about laughing at Jacqui's partner if the woman wasn't right beside him laughing as well. It looked a bit like a cartoon from where he was sitting, T-Dog being thrown only to shake it off and jump back into the fray with a war cry.

Glenn who was pushed out of the fight after he tried to break it up brushed off his clothes and shook his head at the men, Morales' screaming wife and the wide eyed spectators before he walked away.

If he squinted he could imagine it was an anime, dear god how he missed anime and mangas, what he would give to get an issue of _Naruto Shippuden_ right now to read.

 _Highschool of the Dead_ lied to many people, sure there were handsome men who could fight but where were the big boobed sword wielding chicks that could fight better than anyone else in the group?

Well maybe the anime hadn't lied, the whole death and mayhem they got right but everything else was a little touch and go in his opinion.

"Looks like it's about to end. Too bad, that was the best show I've watched in a long time" Jacqui sighed, and Harry snorted. This was supposed to be the calmest and possibly nicest woman in the camp and here she was betting on the fight like some high end competitor.

He watched as Daryl shook shake Merle until his older brother looked in his direction and he had his full attention on him.

Their bond had always amused, exasperated and given him fuzzy feelings.

Sure Merle was a dick most of the time by shooting derogative comments at both men and women, had a low tolerance for blacks, mexicans and basically anyone not his brother, had a borderline drinking addiction and had one of the shortest tempers he had ever seen on a human being up close.

But Harry could at least say the man who was more racist than redneck; loved his little brother more than life. Yea sure, maybe he wasn't the best role model but Harry had witnessed first hand how he had Daryl's back several times, how he defended his brother and called him stupid for not dodging a slow punch.

Harry understood that someone like Merle was like an incredibly huge pill that was forced down your throat dry. Uncomfortable and painful but he had had time to build an immunity against the crass man, unlike T-Dog and poor Morales who was hurrying his family into their SUV, his wife shouting no doubt curse words at Merle who just flipped her the bird without looking.

"Ah, it was good while it lasted" Jacqui sighed and Harry laughed, rubbing her arm.

"I know it hurts to see grown men not beat each other to a pulp, but fun has to end sometime" she just gave him a look that sent him into peals of laughter making her roll her eyes.

"Yea you better run you fucking taco eating cunt!" Merle hollered and Morales spat something in spanish and without another word to anyone in the camp he drove off with his family kicking up dirt and rocks as he went.

Merle spat on the ground, pulling away from Daryl's grip to turn and look at T-Dog who was dusting himself off and nursing his jaw.

"Don't think I forgot about you you fucking-"

"Merle!"

"What?" he snapped turning back to Daryl who pushed him.

"Finish that sentence I dare you you racist piece of shit!" T-Dog stepped forward and Harry's lips twitched when Jacqui rolled her eyes in annoyance before pushing up from her chair.

"Or you'll do what? Swing and miss? Pussies like you can't fight!" Daryl once again had his arms wrapped around his brother while Rick who had joined in on the fray late held back T-Dog.

"You stay there out of line of fire Harry, I'll be back"

"Like the terminator!" she mimicked a gun and he watched as she walked towards the fuming T-Dog settling a hand on his shoulder, and like magic, she seemed to suck all of the aggression out of him.

"Fuck, I bet your woman could throw a better punch than you and she has a real pussy"

Harry couldn't see if she raised an eyebrow or not but knowing Jacqui he knew she did.

"She also likes to aim low to take down men, so you better cross your legs Merle" Harry winced because he'd received one or two of those blows by accident years back and knew just how badly it hurt.

Merle laughed and leaned forward in his brother's grip "A domineering bitch aren't you, fighting your man's battles. See what I said, only a pussy would let his woman fight for him"

Jacqui crossed her arms "And you're lucky I don't have a penis or else I'd show you who the real nookie is"

"Ooo kinky" Merle laughed and Jacqui rolled her eyes then like a dog herding sheep she ushered T-Dog away from the small group of dirt covered men.

From the corner of his eye he saw the trailer that he had shared with the Grimes family open, Lori stepping out and closing the door behind her. She looked to where Rick was standing before walking in the opposite direction and into the forest where he had seen Shane go muttering something about chopping wood or murdering poor orphaned woodland creatures, he didn't know.

Harry followed her with his eyes until she disappeared from sight, going down the small slope that separated the camp from the woods. Turning his gaze back to the group he saw Rick staring in the same direction his wife had just gone.

Who knew there'd be so much drama in a zombie apocalypse.

Rick turned his attention back to the oldest Dixon brother no doubt trying to reason with Merle. Harry sympathized with his friend knowing Merle's, or maybe it was a genetic thing, tendency to lash out at those who were trying to help.

His husband, his dear sweet few-words-for-the-masses husband had come a long way from the rough, tobacco smoking teen who fought anyone who so much as breathed in his direction he had been, hell, Daryl been just as rough as a scrawny kid.

Years ago there hadn't been much distinctions between Daryl and Merle, only the age difference and Merle's more aggressive temper. Now, Harry observed, the comparisons between them were getting smaller and while he knew that the the two would never stop loving each other, he also knew Merle was a man who did not appreciate change, especially when it came to his little brother.

"Don't tell me to calm down boy! They left me tied to a fucking rooftop like I was a fucking cur!"

"And we're sorry for that, it may have been my fault that-"

"Who the fuck are you cow-boy?!" Harry shook his head because Merle probably now only noticed Rick was actually speaking to him. How the man had survived prison he'd never know.

"My name is Rick Grimes, I'm a police officer and like I said, I may have been the reason why you were left behind"

"What'd you say?" Merle took a threatening step towards Rick who held his ground.

"My friend wasn't doing so well and I entered through the supply loading door in the back. A horde had been chasing us so we needed cover. That's when I met the others. I don't know what little squabble you and T-Dog had but he- _we_ didn't mean to leave you up there."

Merle remained oddly silent while Rick was speaking and Harry half expected the man to begin to throw punches, instead he crossed his arms.

"So where's your friend huh? Kicked the bucket while you all left me for dead?"

Harry barely resisted the urge to pout though that pebble looked awfully tempting to throw at stupid brother-in-laws.

"Nah he's alive brother" Merle scowled at Daryl who looked way too happy all of a sudden.

"And why the flying fuck are you so happy" Daryl just grinned a little reaching out to grab Merle by the shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

"I found him"

"Found who?"

Daryl's grin widened and Harry blinked at the sudden sunshine and mystical sparkles that he always saw when Daryl smiled. Merle leaned back, looking a little more than alarmed at the quick shift in facial expression.

"Harry. I found Harry"

Merle's eyes widened and Harry glanced at Rick wondering if the man would realize that Merle had probably forgotten his existence again.

"You did? Where's the little bugger then!"

Harry sighed because at this point in their relationship 'little bugger' was as affectionate as Merle was going to get with him; a huge step up from 'little shit' or 'cock sucker'

Daryl pointed to where Harry was sitting and Harry waved at Merle who scowled again, making use of his long legs to stride over to where Harry was, Daryl no less than a foot behind his brother.

It was amusing, how a guy like Merle Dixon who was normally so loud and opinionated could be shocked into silence at the sight of his pregnant belly. Harry smiled up at Merle enjoying the flabbergasted look on his face. Daryl snorted and pat his brother's shoulder.

"Don't forget to breathe brother"

Merle took in a rather audible breath though his eyes never left Harry's form.

"Holy shit…" he breathed and it was Harry's turn to snort.

"Hey to you too Merle"

"Hoooly shiit"

"Nice to see you too Harry" Harry mocked, deepening his voice in an effort to sound like Merle.

"You're knocked up" he said as if to convince himself. Harry shrugged and waved towards his belly in a 'take a look' motion.

"There's an actual kid in there?" This time Harry rolled his eyes, Daryl staring at his brother a lot less delighted and more bemused than anything else.

"Yes Merle, we're hoping for a baby and not a thirty-five year old man with an addiction to porn and meth"

The older Dixon seemed to gather his bearing again, a dirty grin on his lips as he turned to his younger brother

"Well nice to know your dick still works baby bro. Thought I was the only one with the right plumbing" Daryl rolled his eyes and moved to stand next to Harry who was now on the receiving end of Merle's leer.

"And you. He dicked you good enough to put one in ya hm. Was wondering when you'd reproduce, thought you went sterile or somethin'"

If he rolled his eyes any more or any harder they'd pop right out and roll away.

"Glad to know you're happy your brother is having enough sex to put a baby in me"

Merle chuckled and crossed his arms looking much more prouder than he had any right to be given who was actually carrying the baby and who had help to put it there in the first place.

"You should thank me y'know bubbles"

Harry raised an eyebrow, not at the name but at the first part. "Any particular reason why would I do that?"

"It's probably thanks to me that you got one stewing in there, I taught him all the motions"

Daryl scowled and crossed his arms, looking for all the world he wanted to smother his brother.

"Really now…"

"Uh huh. When he came to me around fifteen talking about this pretty thing that was giving him the eyes I sat him down, put on some porn and showed him how to to move his hips. It's all in the pelvic movements I told him and see, look what my efforts did"

"Fifteen huh" Harry eyed his husband and Daryl groaned.

"Yupp fifteen. Gave him a box of condoms and kicked him out of the house to get his first taste of sweet heaven"

Daryl looked both mortified and exasperated, his fingers twitching as if they wanted to hit something, and before he watched his husband body tackle his brother as he'd seen so many times since knowing them he decided to intervene.

"I'm uh.. Really sorry for what happened back on the roof-top Merle. I was unconscious for most of it. If I'd known you were up there you know that I'd have waited"

All the hilarity seemed to have slid off Merle's face and he spat on the ground.

"Ye well, shit happens y'know" he shrugged and Harry knew that was the end of the conversation.

Glancing to where Rick was standing, not having moved since his tiny part of the conversation Harry could almost hear the battle the man was fighting with himself.

"Yea. Shit happens" he mumbled.

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 **D.H**

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Lori ducked under a branch, following the sounds of metal clashing with wood. The continuous sound of the sharp tip of the axe meeting the wood before it split was her guide to finding Shane. Since she had woken up this morning it had been like a craving, an itch under her skin to find him, to touch him.

He was facing the opposite direction and she stood there, taking in the sweat soaked back of naked skin, how his muscles tensed up before they relaxed. She would watch him all day if she could. That same back she remembered dragging her nails over it, marking him, biting him on the shoulders, the neck… his ass.

Stepping forward she circled him and made sure that no one was closeby. Most of the campers were packing up, the sudden attack scaring them enough that most considered leaving the camp and now Merle was back and making a scene taking up everyone's attention as he always did.

No one would miss her for about an hour, Carl was sound asleep and was a late sleep even before the word cracked and crumbled and Rick was too occupied with trying to keep the peace to notice she had left so she had ample time.

Smiling she ran her fingertips along his back as she circled him, enjoying the way he tensed and a shiver went through his body.

Shane stood, lodging the axe in the stump of a tree, his gaze intense and on her.

Lori's smile turned impudent.

"What're you doing" Shane sounded breathless and she couldn't help the shiver that ran along her spine at the sound of it. A sound she was very acquainted with.

"Just admiring the view. Why, is that wrong of me?"

Shane shrugged reaching down to grab his shirt, wiping the sweat away from his face with it.

"It is when your husband is over there"

Lori made a face and crossed her arms, taking a step forward closer to him. She could feel the heat rolling off of him, she could smell him and it only made whatever it was itch even more under her skin.

"Now you're worried about Rick?"

"Aren't you?" while that was a valid question it wasn't what she wanted to be talking about much less doing.

Taking the last step forward she reached out and placed her hand on his chest, feeling the quick and strong beats of his heart, feeling how he stopped breathing for a moment when she touched him and hearing the hitch in his breathing.

The effect she had on this man was marvelous, he was like putty whenever she touched him, always bending but never breaking.

She closed and removed the tiny bit of space that was left between them, pushing her body flush against his, her arms circling his neck.

"Lori we-" Shane was cut off, his mouth suddenly covered by her's and all he could do was wrap his arms around her waist. Lori moaned into the kiss, smiling not too long afterwards when she felt the tell tale hardness pressing into her stomach.

Between one heart and the next five their pants were down and they were hidden behind the large trunk of a tree and he was between her legs, consuming her, reaching deep inside of her and she loved it. This was her craving what she wanted, what she needed.

She gasped and held on tighter, not caring that the bark of the tree was rough and scraping her back through the shirt she was wearing. All that mattered was that Shane was fucking her, filling her up before she had to go back to her husband.

Sexual tension was both a gift and a curse because soon enough she was biting into his shoulder to stifle her orgasm and he came not too long afterwards. Once again he was breathless and she kissed him, stealing what little breath he had left.

Shane looked dazed as he sat on the ground, pants buttoned and zipped as he stared at her as she fixed her own jeans and shirt.

"What're we doing Lori"

Lori fixed her hair, throwing it in a quick pony tail, not even bothering to look at him. Her itch was satisfied.

"Surviving Shane, we're surviving and staying afloat"

She threw him a quick smile over her shoulder as she headed towards the lake to take a quick bath and clean herself up. It was always a risk to let him orgasm in her, but it wasn't exactly well planned out when she had woken up and wanted him.

She stripped, dropping her clothes on a rock before she dove in, letting the chilly water cover her from head to toe, washing away Shane's scent from her body as well as the evidence between her legs. Rubbing her hands over her skin she lamented the fact that soap wasn't available, what she'd do for a bar of dove soap at her disposal.

Ducking under the water and coming back up a few seconds later she exited the lake and felt refreshed.

She knew it was wrong to desire and have two men at the same time.

Even more so when they were best friends and she was technically a married woman, but she loved Rick and she craved Shane. Each provided something the other didn't and with both of them she fet complete. Happier than she had been in a long time since her neighbors began eating one another.

Rick was her knight and Shane was the lover. One to protect her and the other to satisfy her.

What Rick didn't know wouldn't hurt him and it certainly wasn't hurting her in ways that she didn't want, and while it was risky to be fucking his best friend while he was nearby, it was a risk she'd take.

Dressing after air drying she sighed and let loose her hair before trekking back to the camp. Passing the spot where she had left Shane was now empty and a small part of her wondered where he had gone but she brushed it off.

Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Shane.

Now was the time for her to be a wife and a mother, to put on a happy smile for her baby and give her husband a good morning kiss. Now was the time for her to be Lori Grimes and pretend to tolerate that annoying tick that still refused to leave Rick alone.

She could do this, it was becoming almost as easy as breathing now.

Wrapping her arms around Rick's neck she placed a chaste kiss on his lips, opening her eyes in time to see his flutter at the unexpected peck.

"Morning sweetheart" she smiled and gave him another.

Rick gazed at her for a long moment before he smiled back. "You're in a good mood this morning. I thought after what happened last night you'd be-"

She kissed him again, silencing him as easy as she did with Shane.

"Forget last night I don't want us to argue, and besides, I woke up this morning and was thankful that despite everything I have you again. I have my family whole and healthy and alive. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Rick looked a bit surprised at her confession but nodded. "I'm glad we're not arguing Lori"

Lori smiled wider and kissed him again, using a bit of tongue, not much to be inappropriate but just enough that Rick's breath hitched.

"I love you Rick Grimes"

Rick blinked, a small smile forming on his face, just a simple curve of the lips. "I love you too Lori"

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 **D.H**

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Harry tried to hide his grimace with a smile as he rewrapped the stump that was her arm. Amy gave him a shaky smile back before her attention was diverted by Andrea again letting Harry finish applying the scarce and nearly gone fresh bandage.

The wound was festering and Harry desperately needed her to be in a clean sterilized room with antibiotics and pain medication.

There was talk circulating the camp about leaving like the Morales' had and spreading beyond since the majority of people no longer felt safe after the attack and while he wasn't too keen on willingly entering dead infested grounds he knew that sooner than later they would have to.

Supplies were running low as it was and he knew first hand that hungry frightened people were desperate fearless people.

Running his fingers through Amy's hair he subtly felt her temperature when he moved it to caress her cheek smiling down at her, more genuine this time. She returned it, shaky and faint and Andrea looked as if she would cry again her eyes as red as her nose and face a bit swollen from all the crying she did.

He wanted to say sorry again over and over but bit his lip instead. As much as it pained him to see Amy like this both she and Andrea chose it and would have to follow where it took them.

It still didn't make him feel any less shitty and guilty about it.

Exiting the RV he threw the bloody and putrescent bandages away in the fire that was made for the walkers that had invaded the camp ground, the people who had been a part of their group were being taken up the hill top where Jim had dug the holes a day previous.

Harry was still leery of the tall man, premonition was scary as hell in movies but to see and witness it first hand in with a so painfully normal looking man like Jim was more than enough to browbeat him into acknowledging that even run of the mill human had it.

His eyes sought out Daryl who was working with a peeved Merle, each lifting the end of one of the deceased before dumping them in the huge bon-fire made specifically for them. Merle understandably didn't give two shits about the downed walkers, and he gave less of a shit about the dead campers but Harry also knew that if any could get the older Dixon to cooperate it would be Daryl.

Wandering over to where Carl and Sophia were playing he sat down on the stump, both children looking up at him, bright grins on their faces.

"Harry!"

"How is the baby, is he okay?"

Carl looked at Sophia funny "It's gonna be a girl my dad said so and I believe him"

Sophia crossed her arms across her chest "Nuh-uh it's gonna be a boy, mommy said that his belly is low, she that means it's a boy"

Harry looked between the two children not even pre-teens yet as they argued about his unborn child's gender. Supposedly lots of people had opinions about his baby's status as a male or female while all Harry wanted was ten toes and fingers alike with a healthy body and a sound mind.

"What'dya think Harry hm, you know it's gonna be a girl, my dad said so and dad said you were really smart"

Harry opened his mouth to answer but Sophia cut in glare aimed straight at Carl "Stop trying to per-per-su-ade him to tell lies Carl, mommy said that isn't good!"

"You don't even know what that words means!"

Sophia glared even harder "Yes I do! It's you who's too stupid to know!"

"Mum said not to call people stupid!"

"But you are! You are!"

"Okay guys let's all calm down now yea?" he put his hands on both their shoulders, ushering both to sit back down in their respective seats.

The two children kept glaring at one another and he sighed because what was he supposed to say to two pre-preteens arguing about the gender of his baby? Looking up hoping to catch one of their mothers he instead caught sight if Jacqui and was about to call her when he saw her scramble away from Jim.

It was like watching a swarm of bees descend upon an invading wasp with Shane, Rick, Daryl and the others just swooping in when she screamed for help. Standing he ushered the children over to Dale's RV before he went towards the group.

He still wasn't a fan of Jim after what happened, hell Harry wasn't even sure what the man had done with Amy's arm.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay" Jim kept repeating and Harry wondered if he really was.

"Rick what's going on?"

Rick barely glanced his direction before his arm shot out the same time as Daryl's to act as a barrier between him and Jim's bleeding body. He gave them both his best 'are you stupid' look before ducking under their arms and ignoring their protests and dodging Rick's hand but not Merle's who yanked him backwards and wrapped his arms around Harry.

"Wouldn't want you getting nibbled on in the wrong ways now, would we midget" Harry gave Merle his best 'are you fucking stupid look' when he was traded off to Daryl like a package of fucking beans in 1891.

"Jim's been bit" his looked up at his husband "Oh."

Looking back at the lanky man he felt pity surge through his system. "Oh."

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay" the man was panting now and Harry knew the man knew that he really wasn't okay.

This was one of the strangest things he's experienced since finding Rick in a hospital full of dead people and so baby faced about the world's apocalypse. They were holding a fucking conference about what to do with Jim. Today's topics were: To kill Jim or not to kill Jim with the sub-topic of what to do if they didn't.

"I say we poke his brain with that pick-axe over there and be done with it" trust Merle to be the unwanted voice of reason.

Shane looked at the oldest Dixon, eyes narrowed. "Is that what you'd want if it were you? An axe in the head like-"

"Yup! Dead and over with instead of watching people discuss how and whether to kill me a few feet away"

Daryl was nodding and Shane turned his glare on him. "You two are fucking crazy!"

Dale raised his hand "Then call me crazy too because- and I can't believe I'm saying this- but I agree with Merle and Daryl" he even looked uncomfortable saying those words and Harry wondered just how much of a terror the two brothers were before he showed up.

Rick frowned, crossing his arms. That was his disapproving face - Harry had them labelled by now.

"Jim's not a rabid dog Dale, he hasn't even turned and you're-"

"I'm not suggesting that he-"

"He's a sick man, if we start down that road where do we draw the line? Amy was saved, maybe we can-"

"Saved? She's half dead with fever!" Lori piped in, a look of fury on her features that shifted from her husband to Harry and he looked away because despite what Jacqui and Daryl told him, the guilt was still there.

Rick sighed, an annoyed look on his face "Lori.. now's not the time" she glared at him but settled down.

"Somebody's marriage needs counselling" Merle staged whispered and Harry pinched Daryl in the side when the man smirked.

"The line's pretty clear Rick. We have zero tolerance for walkers- or any to be."

"Why zero tolerance? If it was him you'd be begging us to find a way to save him, what makes Jim so different?"

"Lori.."

"No! I want to know! Who made him god and decides who gets to live and die? If it was _him_ he'd want to find a way to reverse the effects and you know it!"

Harry blinked because was he so low on her line of humans that she refused to call him by name? Were his ratings going to get so low he'd be called 'it' soon?

"Lori I said that now wasn't the time or place" she glared at Rick again and Harry could practically taste the anger "It's never the right time or place when it comes to _him!_ I want to know what makes his life so valuable over Jim's, over ours if we had to be in Jim's position!"

"No one said anything about it but you! Why? Because that's not the issue at hand, you have a problem with Harry; anyone with eyes could see that Lori but right now? It's not the right time. So either shut up and help solve the problem or leave!"

Lori flinched as if she had been slapped and Harry wanted to reach out to Rick because holy shit, he's never heard his friend sound so angry before in the months he knew him, but it did the trick and she stepped back with her arms crossed.

Harry glanced at Shane, the man's expression peculiar as if he didn't know whether to be angry or amused or even concerned. It was very conflicting.

"What if we got him help, I heard the CDC was working on a cure for this"

"Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell, but Rick that's a stretch right there man"

"If there's any government at all they would protect that place, food, shelter, protection. It has everything we would need plus a place to help Jim _and_ Amy get better"

Shane sighed, dragging his hand through his hair "Alright I get it but if you want all of things then they'd be at an army base, away from the hot zones and armed to the teeth, I say we go to Fort Benning"

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction!" Harry had to agree with the woman, that was a bit of a stretch.

Rick shook his head "The military was the first to go, we all saw them on the front lines. The CDC is our best chance for survival"

"You can't be serious man"

"We'll make it. All of us. Jim and Amy and we would be able to stay there without worrying about another incident like before" that seemed to appease anyone listening except Merle and Daryl, and even to Harry it sounded a bit farfetched.

"Wait so we're leaving the zombie-in-progress alive?" Merle stared at Rick as if he had two heads.

"We don't kill the living Merle"

Merle turned to Shane "Don't tell me you the big bad police officer who was breathing down me and my lil bro's neck since we got here is okay with letting a time-bomb stay with the group"

Shane licked his lips and looked a bit uncomfortable with the question before he nodded "I agree with Rick"

Merle threw his arms up and Harry looked at the man who was rocking, head bowed and shirt stained with blood. Rick grabbed Jim by the arm and he startled.

"W-where are you ta-taking me?"

"Somewhere safe. Come on"

A few hours later with Harry being omitted from having to help with the heavy labor of dragging and burying bodies he stopped in to check on Amy and found her with a brand new necklace around her neck and Andrea. Jim was delirious, his fever nearly as high as Amy's and Harry really didn't have the heart to tell anyone the man was beginning to turn, the symptoms of his body breaking down, ready to shut down before it reanimated.

They should've given him the easy way out and just let Merle put an axe in his head but then again the same could've been said for Amy.

 **.**

 **D.H**

 **.**

"I don't agree with what you're doing" he had to get it off his chest. Pretending to agree was nearly as suffocating as pretending to have tried to help Rick beyond the bed in front of the door when the soldiers began to shoot anything that moved in the hospital.

Rick paused and turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. "What am I doing?"

"The CDC thing." Rick laughed and Shane frowned "You change your mind awful fast these days buddy"

"People back at the camp aren't convinced, you're uprooting them and taking them out to where the danger is. You gotta think about what's best for your family man" he didn't mention that his own wife didn't think it was a good idea.

Shane watched as Rick's face lost all good humor "You don't think I'm doing what's best for the both of them? Everything I _do_ is for them"

Shane crossed his arms and scoffed "By taking them out there where there are all sorts of risks?"

Rick squinted at Shane wondering if this conversation was really happening. "As opposed to taking them hundreds of miles out to an uncertain future? If I was at sea drowning I'd swim towards the closest ship not further out to sea. Why're you so against this?"

Shane ran fingers through his hair and gave Rick a look. "I- Look I want to okay. I want to believe you but I can't. I don't see this vision you're trying to sell"

He nodded "If it was your family you'd feel a whole hell of a lot differently"

"What did you say to me?" If this was his family? It had been _his_ family before Rick had come back towing Dixon's bitch and child. It had been his son and wife, the people who smiled at him every morning, the woman he had sex with, the boy who he taught how to fish and catch frogs. That had all been him!

"You heard me. If you had a wife and child you would see this from my perspective. You would see that heading towards the CDC would be the best choice instead of taking them on an adventure into places we haven't got a clue about, that we don't know if it's overrun by the dead or not"

Shane's face contorted in anger but Rick didn't back down.

"Fuck you man! I took care of them! I kept them safe like they were my own when you weren't here! Where the fuck were you when they needed you the most?"

Rick couldn't believe the man was asking him that question "In a fucking hospital in a coma! You know the one where you left me, remember that?"

"I had no choice! You were hooked up to all sorts of machines, if I removed them you might have died-"

It was Rick's turn to scoff "So instead you left me to die then. You left me without a weapon, without a note explaining shit, without a direction to go.. I went to my home and found my family gone and you expect me to what? Be so fucking grateful that you deserted me and are basically f-"

"What was that?" Shane stepped forward and Rick took one too.

"Do you want me to finish that sentence? Do you?"

Shane backed down, just a bit but Rick counted it as a win.

Both their attention was diverted to the left of Rick and Shane nodded "I got your back"

He did have Rick's back, with a gun aimed at his head and finger on the trigger. It would be easy to. Rick wouldn't have to suffer, he'd be dead before he hit the ground and wouldn't know what hit him. His hand trembled and he licked his lips. Just a squeeze of his finger and it would all be-

Another snap of twigs to his own right made him turn the gun towards Dale who was staring at him with wide eyes. Rick had his gun trained on him as well, non the wiser. Lowering it Rick sighed "It's just Dale"

Shane laughed a bit "Gonna need reflective vest if we're gonna be out here" he joked.

He could see Dale still eyeing him but he pat Rick's shoulder "Let's head back" Rick stared at the hand on his shoulder, shrugging it off.

"Yea" Rick went on ahead, making a beeline to the RV.

Shane smiled at Dale and shouldered the shotgun. "Let's go man, nothing out here" Dale nodded and followed him. He could feel Dale's eyes on him but he kept moving.

When they made it back to camp he turned away from the sight of Carl running to Rick hugging him and Lori who was still pissed at the man who called her out during their small meeting hugged him when Rick reached out to her.

That had been his family. His woman, his child. He wanted that so bad he wished he had pulled the trigger.

 **.**

 **D.H**

 **.**

Rick stared out at the horizon, walkie-talkie in hand. Back at the camp everyone was packing up, some people had already left, deciding to not follow him on his apparently crazy mission and a small part of him wondered if it was crazy. What if Shane had been right and their safest place was at an army base instead of a CDC that may not even be standing.

He wasn't alone in wanting to go to the CDC however. Daryl was with him simply because Harry was getting bigger each day and was prone to sleeping without a seconds notice. As a father and husband he could understand the need to have his spouse and child somewhere safe and away from danger.

Harry was with him simply because he declared that Rick would be lost without him. Which may have been more true than Rick would've liked to admit. Harry had once told him he was such a 'good-guy' that he'd be in denial even if the truth slapped him in the face with it's wet dick.

Pressing the button the transmitter he sighed "Morgan if you are hearing this we're leaving the quarry. There was an attack and some good people died. The group decided to splinter but I'm taking a group to the CDC. I believe that's the best place to be right now especially with Harry getting huge, but we also have two sick people in our group, a girl named Amy and a guy named Jim. If there's anything left it's gotta be there don't you think? Morgan I've left a map and a note taped to the side of a red car if you head up this way. I hope you and Duane are okay man. Harry and I both miss you guys. Be safe"

Going back down he stared at his group, the campfire had already been put and any pots and pans placed away. He gave Harry a smile where he standing with the two Dixon brothers over by Daryl's pick-up, a motorcycle strapped down in the back. Shane was by his lonesome by his own truck and he debated if to send someone to ride with the man before he shrugged mentally.

Almost butting heads yesterday with the man still raised his hackles, and he had almost let something slip.

"Alright everyone. Let's move out"

Carol, Lori and their children climbed in Carol's jeep with him at the steering wheel. He looked at Carol in the mirror. The things he had heard from people about her husband he couldn't exactly say he was sorry the man was dead. Ed Peletier in his opinion was scum but the way he died had been cruel and harsh, but from what Lori had told him Carol was healing, still sad but healing. Honking the horn twice he pushed off, the others in the RV and other vehicles following behind.

It was barely five miles out when the RV broke down, Dale slowing to a stop at the side of the road, everyone else coming to a stop as well.

"I told you we need the part from the other truck but nooo because you obviously have experience with RV's" Dale gave Rick an unimpressed look as they all gathered around the smoking hood of the RV.

Rick sighed and popped the hood. "Can you rig it?" Dale gave him another look "It's more duct tape than actual machine at this point and I'm all out of tape"

Rick dragged his hand over his face "Ideas anyone?"

Shane pointed up ahead from where he was looking through the binoculars "I think I see a gas station up ahead, maybe they'll have some parts and food. Hold down the fort while I go and take a look"

"I'll come with you incase you need back-up" T-Dog piped up, smacking Shane lightly on his shoulder.

"Guys, it's Jim. He's not doing so well" Rick turned to Jacqui who had been in the back tending to Jim, her initial fear of him having passed and really, he could see what Harry saw in the woman.

Nodding Shane looks at Rick and he stares back "We'll be back quickly" watching the two men run off he took his hat off and stepped into the RV that both Jim and Amy were sharing.

He had never seen someone during the process of turning into one of the dead. He had always assumed it'd be quick. They get bitten, they die, then they reanimate. But in the case of Jim it was a slow, torturous change. The man was sweating buckets, breathing labored and he was hallucinating, the bite in his side infected with pus and inflamed. Harry had wrapped and tended to it after the initial revelation of him being bitten but somewhere along the line Jim must have torn the bandage off.

"Hey Jim, how're you feeling buddy" it was a silly question but the only one that came to mind.

Jim looked up at him, eyes glassy and unfocused "This ride is killing me, leave me here.. My bones feel like they're gonna break- like glass, they feel like glass. Leave me here..I wanna be with my family"

Rick glanced at Jacqui and she gave him a small shrug. Licking his lips he took another step forward.

"They're all dead Jim. You may not know what you're asking for but they're-"

He leaned back a bit when Jim's eyes suddenly cleared of fever and clarity shined in them. The man glared at Rick and if he could he might've gotten up in Rick's face.

"I know that- don't you think I know that?" he shook his head "I'm clear in the head now and I know what I'm asking Rick. I'm not going to make it to the CDC. Leave me here please. It's my life, I want to die on my terms. My decision not your failure"

It wasn't five minutes later than he and Shane were taking Jim up the small hillside nearby, setting him down under a shady tree. The man groaned and Rick could feel the tremors running through his body.

"Are you sure this is what you want Jim?"

Jim nodded, a small but happy smile on his face. "Yea, this is perfect. The breeze feels real nice"

Shane nodded tightly "Okay. Alright. Bye Jim" Rick watched his friend walk away, back tense and steps measured. Shane had never been good at these sort of things. Preferring to make it quick and short, though he never could blame him.

It was like watching a viewing at a funeral, but the person in question was very much alive if just barely.

Jacqui came up behind him, tears already in her eyes, and she might have been the only person to have been willing to kiss an infected person, a soft peck on the cheek that made Jim smile and his hand coming up to hold hers. "Don't fight it sweetie, just close your eyes and it'll all be over soon"

Jim nods and Jacqui touched his face one last time before she went back down the hill. Harry took her place touching Jim lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry for scaring you before. Didn't mean to" Harry shook his head "It's okay, it's all forgiven already Jim."

Jim smiled again "I hope your baby is healthy and happy" Harry looked a bit surprised, rubbing his belly and he gave Jim a sad smile.

"I hope you see your family again. Bye Jim" Daryl helped him up from where he was kneeled and the youngest Dixon just gave Jim a nod but Rick supposed that was as good as any words, watching as they went back down the hill Daryl's hand firmly around Harry.

Dale was the last one and he kneeled down beside the man as well, his fishing hat off and in his hands.

"Thanks for uh.. For fighting for us and all" Jim tilted his head a bit, eyes dazed and a far away again "No problem" Dale nodded, gave the man a squeeze on his shoulder and then it was just Rick.

Rick didn't know Jim, barely knew him beyond the camp so he only could offer a pistol, a way to get the job done, quickly and without any further pain. Jim shook his head, looking off over the horizon of trees and sunlight.

"Bye Jim" he went back down to the assembly of vehicles, the sheets that Jim had been lying on were balled up and thrown to the side of the road. Casting one more look at the tall man they drove off. All the others who hadn't come up waving at him even though he didn't wave back.

He wouldn't feel guilty about it. Jim had asked for this and he had given the man his final request.

The next time they stopped the CDC loomed a couple meters away behind what seemed like miles of corpses and blow-flies that were each. The smell was worse than the sight of the rotting bodies and Rick wasn't the only one who gagged.

Navigating through the sea of dead bodies, soldiers and civilians alike he covered his mouth and nose and prayed he wasn't wrong.

 **.**

 **D.H**

 **.**

 **A/n:** Thanks for the reviews as always and sorry again for the very late update. Time flies so fucking quickly.

Thanks to Nekoka6069 for the correct spanish translation of Morales' wife - "¡Ayuda! ¡ayuda! Daryl, ¡detén a tu hermano! ¡Está matando a mi Manuel!"

Till next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n:** Surprised aren't you? That makes you and me both. Sorry for any mistakes found.

 **Warnings:** Some perhaps butchered doctor stuff, some Edwin Jenner stuff and some Shane  & Harry stuff.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **To our gracious host that pulled us off the streets from getting our asses eaten."**

 **Rick**

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Chapter Seven

Harry gagged and his stomach rolled as he stepped over and around the bloated and already burst corpses of the people who had fought and died there. Soldiers still holding onto their weapons, gun shot wounds in their heads probably given by the comrades, civilians among the carnage.

The smell was ten times worse than the sight, blow-flies left the bodies by the the dozens when someone got too close and swarmed them. He didn't know which was worse. Seeing the insides of a decomposed man or having the flies that were eating him touch his face.

Carl and Sophia were close to tears asking to go back and Rick was at the helm of the group along with Shane pushing forward where the majority of the bodies were, piled up like flesh sandbags. Daryl was all shades of pissed, not because he was basically stepping in someone's guts but because Harry himself had to do it and Harry half expected him to kick on of the dead if he didn't think it wouldn't explode on contact from all the built up gases.

Harry coughed and nearly vomited when he got a lung full of the contaminated air, bile rising up his throat before he swallowed it back down. Daryl looked sharply at him him, eyes narrowing even more.

"Mhm fine" his voice was muffled behind his shirt and hand again, Daryl pulling him closer.

Merle was somewhere behind them, eyeing the corpses carefully in case any of them weren't really dead and reanimated.

"Keep moving everybody, stay together, we're almost there, just keep moving" he wondered how Shane could even be speaking when the air smelled like a dead rat stuffed inside of a bigger dead rat.

"Mom I want to go back" Carol shushed Sophia and held the little girl closer. Carol pulled away from Lori to go to Rick but was tugged back.

"I want to go with dad!" she shushed him, glancing at the corpses "Stay with me, he's making sure everything is alright first"

The closer they got to the door the stronger the scent of decay was, so strong now that his hand and shirt weren't doing much to filter out the odor.

"Oh my god is that someone's spleen? Is that what a spleen looks like?"

"Glenn don't look at it"

"But it's right there and- oh crap I think I'm gonna be sick"

Amy was on a makeshift stretcher held by Andrea and Dale at the back with T-Dog as guard and look out. They couldn't take any chances with the corpses, even if they looked dead reanimation could happen at anytime Harry would personally really prefer not to get bitten.

Looking at the building now Harry stared at the security cameras that lines the front, lights on but the camera itself wasn't moving.

"Keep it together people" Shane as the voice of reason was becoming increasingly weird.

Harry hung back, Daryl depositing him with Jacqui who wrapped his arm around him "You okay sweetheart?" she asked him and Harry nodded, not wanting to risk speaking because then he'd really puke.

Between Daryl, Shane and Rick pounding at the security door it was enough racket to wake the dead, hopefully not literally since they were surrounded by a lot of remains.

His baby kicked him hard enough that he hissed, rubbing just below his navel. His anxiety was getting to the baby but he couldn't help. They were stranded with no food, little gas, no water and outside was getting dark very quickly. Much too quick and the three men pounding at the door didn't seem to notice.

Looking back down at stiffs then back to the cars and RV that were almost invisible in the looming night he tried to slow his breathing because now would not be a good time to have a panic attack.

"Daryl.."

"There's no body there!"

"Then why are the shutters down? Someone's in there, I know it" Rick pounded at the door again.

Everyone was preoccupied with the door, with the building but Harry was looking out into the enclosing dusk, his eyes and mind creating moving shapes of people and things until the imaginations of his mind seemed so real when the first stumbling figure of a walker came out followed by several more.

"Daryl…" he raised his voice but his husband could hear him between Rick and Shane still hitting away at the door and Merle and him arguing.

"Oh my god!" Jacqui noticed the dead too, pulling him closer to the men.

"Daryl!" his shout got everyone's attention and he pointed to the odd twenty or thirty something walkers that were either attracted by the scent of decay or their noise.

"Carl come on"

"Mommy I'm scared!"

"I know you're in there! Open the fucking door!"

Daryl took out an arrow, now standing in front of Harry and Jacqui with Merle close by.

"Rick no one is in there! We have to go!" Shane pulled at Rick's shirt and the man yanked his arm away, looking directly to the camera now.

"This ain't gonna be my graveyard lil bro, not because of some cowboy who brought us to a dead end"

Shane rounded on Merle "Just shut up okay? Shut up!" he turned back to Rick "Come on man, we have to go"

Carol looked as panicked as Harry felt, Sophia clinging to her and she did the same in return "We are you going to go?"

"She's right, where are we going to go? We're too close to the city and it's almost fully night"

Shane glanced at Rick "Fort Benning, we go there-"

"On what? No food or fuel, water is almost gone. Amy needs help now! Not a hundred miles later!"

"One hundred and twenty-five. I checked the map" Glenn still looked sick but he wouldn't be Garth if he didn't offer facts no one wanted to hear during a crisis.

The horde was getting closer and it reminded him of that day in the hospital when a wave of dead had taken over and the soldiers gave up on trying to recognize the difference between the living and the dead, shooting anything that moved instead.

Only now the soldiers were already dead, they had limited weapons and even less bullets and the horde was still going strong.

"We don't need Fort Benning we need a better solution and now!"

Everyone was panicking and though Rick tried to hide it so was he. "We'll think of something.. We'll find a better way but someone _is_ in there I know it"

"Rick give it up! We need to go now before they get any closer!"

"Baby come on, we have to leave! Shane's right!" Lori pulled Carl closer and Shane grabbed Rick's arm, tugging him away from the door.

Harry was staring at the camera and he saw when it moved the same time as Rick did. "It moved! The Camera moved!"

Dale shook his head, readjusting his grip on the stretcher they had Amy in "You're imagining it son, let's go before we get trapped"

"No he didn't I saw it too!"

"Harry!"

Harry dodged Daryl's arm and stood underneath the camera's line of viewing waving at it. "It moved I saw it too Daryl. Someone is in there"

"You both are seeing shit, nothing moved, the gears on the place are winding down it doesn't mean anything. We have to leave now, Rick come on man, think about the group, Daryl get your husband and let's go"

Daryl's face soured, blue eyes glaring at Shane at the order but Harry was ignoring them both, even Jacqui was murmuring to him to go back to the cars.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me! Please we're desperate, we've got women and children here with us, my friend is pregnant. We have no food, no water and the gas is nearly gone"

"Daryl someone is in there" Daryl glanced up at the camera and shook his head "Even if they're in there they are aren't opening. We have to go back to the truck Harry"

"But-"

"Bro-in-law listen to my stupid brother or we're all gonna be sitting ducks" Harry looked at Rick who was still fighting Shane's hold and Harry took a step back until Daryl was guiding him away from the doors.

"If you don't let us in you're killing us! Please! Don't leave us out here!"

"Rick come on! We have to go!" Rick let himself be pulled away from the door and Harry looked back, watching the camera shift again in his direction.

"Fuck!" he hadn't heard Rick curse much in the time he knew the man but when he did it was normally for a good reason. This Harry mused was a very good enough reason.

"You're killing us! You're killing us!"

The horde was close enough that their groans could be heard clearly enough and it surprised him how much hear fear could dampen the other senses such as smell because the scent of the decomposed bodies was hardly even registering.

Daryl had managed to corral his a few feet away from the door before the security door rolled up and the steel door behind it hissed before that too opened. Everyone raised their hands to cover their eyes at the bright, nearly blinding light practically made it seem like day time again.

Even though his heart was racing like crazy and his baby was kicking him hard enough to bruise he couldn't help but think this was very X-Files-ish.

Harry had forgotten how sleek the inside of the places like the CDC could be. All pristine floors, counter tops. Hell even the windows were top class.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

He was in the middle with the children and other women with the men surrounding them, guns at ready. It would be rather ironic for the person to save them from a horde and potential death only to bring them in to kill them.

The sound of a gun cocking made him turn to the right and both Daryl and Rick raised their own weapons, fingers on the triggers leveled on the man with a rifle.

"Anyone infected?"

"One of us was, but he didn't make it. Our friend here had her arm amputated to stop the infection but now she's in bad shape."

The man glanced at Amy from between the bodies "Is that why you're here? To get her treatment?"

Rick shrugged one shoulder "We're asking for a chance to survive."

"That's an awful lot to ask for these days. In case you didn't notice it's everyone for himself"

"I know. But I'm not by myself am I. I have my group, my people, my friends and family and we need this"

The man looks at everyone and his eyes linger on Harry long enough that he began to feel uncomfortable to the point that wrapped his hands around his belly. Daryl stepped in front of Harry and the man looked away.

"You all have to submit a blood test. That's the price of admission. If you disagree then you can exit now"

Rick nodded for them all "We can do that" he looked at them all, Merle grumbling but nodding. "We can"

The man, now a doctor lowered his gun, putting the safety back on.

"If you have any baggage or stuff to bring in I suggest you get it now because once these doors close they don't open back up"

An elevator door opened and he stepped in, followed by them all, the space nearly twice the size of the normal lifts.

"VI, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here" there was a series of beeps and before the doors closed the entire room went dark, the lights shutting off and the hum of machines whirring down to nothing.

"Were you talking a robot?" Carl's question was innocent enough and everyone looked to the man who quirked an eyebrow at the boy.

"Yea, kinda. She's the one who keeps the place running, tells me if anything if failing or needs fixing, when lab samples are finished."

"She?" Sophia looked interested now and her mother tucked her closer to her side.

"Yea, it's a female. Most places like this, ones that deal with technology have a female voice as the expert system"

"Why?" Carl and Sophia grinned at each other "Jinx! Double Jinx! Triple Jinx!" they both shrugged when no one won but the man chuckled.

"Because female voices are calming, don't you guys feel more calm with your mums?" the two children looked a bit contemplative before nodding.

Sophia would always feel more comfortable with Carol mostly because her father was an abusive drunk that didn't know his ass from his stomach. While Carl may have gotten away with more when he was with his mother; Harry mused.

Rick stepped forward a tiny bit so that he was maybe a foot or so in front of Daryl "Rick Grimes"

The man looked at the hand before he grasped it "Dr. Edwin Jenner"

Everyone else introduced themselves and Harry gave the man a wave though he didn't move from behind his now disgruntled husband.

"Doctors always go packing heat like that" Jenner shrugged his shoulders "Well there were plenty lying around, had to learn somehow right?"

Daryl grunted and Harry found himself between the two Dixon brother in a human sandwich which.. Ew if it was placed in the wrong context.

"Besides, you all looked harmless enough, well except you two. I'll have to keep my eyes on you both"

Carl and Sophia smiled, looking bashful and excited at the same time and Harry couldn't have been the only one to think just how wonderful children's innocence is. He looked up and away from where Daryl's hand was rubbing his knuckles, the thumb brushing over where their baby was kicking to gaze at the dark room beyond the elevator doors.

"VI, turn on the lights in the big room." Jenner stepped out and everyone followed, Daryl herding him to the back of the small crowd and Merle even shifted.

The lights in the room came to life slowly, the 'big room' was indeed a big room. Aptly named actually with couches, tables, computers, tv's and even a kitchen further along in.

It was probably a bit silly to think that Daryl hadn't noticed the man's more than lingering looks and if Daryl noticed something then Merle was never too far behind. He squeezed his husband's hand because the last thing he needed was for Daryl's well known anger to make an appearance after so long. Merle on the other hand was a loose canon if tempted.

Daryl squeezed back but didn't lose any of the tenseness in his body.

He focused with half an ear to the conversation at hand only catching a bit of what Rick was asking "-the doctors the staff?"

"I'm it, just me here"

"And the Vi.. the computer you were talking to. Can it talk back?" Lori asked and Carl looked so excited about the prospect of a talking computer he began to bounce.

Jenner tilted his head, a smile plastered on his face again "She sure can. VI say hello to our guests. Tell them… welcome"

A beep later and a feminine voice spoke up with a slight echo "Hello guests. Welcome"

Carl and Sophia squealed while Lori and Carol looked a bit amazed.

Harry, even as a doctor hated needles. It wasn't a phobia just plain and simple hated those things. So when Jenner swabbed his arm with alcohol and took out a fresh needle the only reason he didn't try to run away was because of Daryl's hands on his shoulders. Looking away from the blood that was filling the vial he just focused on breathing and Daryl's presence until the pointed tip exited his skin and cotton ball was pressed on the small puncture wound.

"All done"

Harry gave him a small smile and pushed himself up only for the world to suddenly become a roller coaster ride and tilt.

"Hey hey! Harry!" he blinked slowly up at his husband then at Rick's and Jacqui's who were hovering above him. He tried to stop blinking because it was only making their faces blurry and voices distant.

"Is he okay?" he looked at Jenner who was only now more of a shape than a person. What he was laying on was really soft and felt much more comfortable than the pick-up's backseat.

"He hasn't eaten for a few days" that was Jacqui's voice. Oh how he loved Jacqui. Daryl was probably useless right now all stony faced and worried. He really wished he had time to work on Daryl from an earlier age before he got so emotionally constipated.

"None of us have" how Lori managed to make such a simple sentence sound so spiteful and towards _him_ was beyond Harry but now that his brain had caught up to his body he realized he was about to pass out. It kind of annoyed him that the last words he heard were from Lori but oh well.

 **.**

 **D.H**

 **.**

He hadn't wanted to let them in. The moment they had stepped in the car park he had know they were there. Sensory detectors having been placed there by him personally after the dead had had a banquet with the soldiers and the other doctors and staff had evacuated to be with their families.

He didn't have a reason to leave. He had no one left to go back to.

His wife was dead, parents having been gone years previously. They never had children and his siblings and him had lost contact after they mother's funeral back in 2001. He did know that he had a few nieces and nephews but… they weren't important. His work was, his wife's work, the one he should have died in place of because at least then she would've made progress with his corpse.

After the samples had been destroyed he could admit to going just a bit crazy.

Then someone had started to bang on the door and several more faces appeared. He was content enough to leave them out there. To let the dead that never were too far away to run them off or let them join the 'brave and heroic' soldiers that fell instead of fleeing.

He didn't care what anyone said. There was no honor in dying for your country. Especially a country that was so beyond fucked that the president had went underground or died after the first major outbreak in DC. It wasn't only the president that went off radar. Anyone who had political connections went dark. No one knew if they were dead or in a bunker somewhere off the coast.

He didn't care though. He was beyond caring after his wife left.

But then he saw him. That face. The face that looked familiar it was like a shock to his system. He knew that face from somewhere but if he let the man in then no doubt everyone else would have to follow.

He had been right. But it wasn't like he could tell the men with guns that the only reason he granted them sanctuary was because of one man. That he had intended to let them stay outside and either watch them run or be devoured. To his surprise the man was pregnant. It had been so long since he had seen someone full of life and a part of him wanted to watch it blossom while another part wanted to snuff it out.

He had never been able to see one of them up close. No matter how 'normal' it was to see a pregnant male celebrity showcasing his belly or the random teenager on the streets, he had never had the chance to touch one. He had heard stories of some men dying half-way during the birth, their anal cavities grotesquely expanded and the child trapped and dying as well.

He'd also heard stories of those men who had smooth births but with it being very bloody, like a hemorrhage but not being one. Edwin wondered which one the man would be, the lucky or the dead one.

A part of him wanted this Harry Black, the name familiar as well, to be the unlucky one. To be the dead one. Looking at the husband he wondered if the man would grieve as loudly as he had done when his wife had passed much too early. Or if he would be as stone faced as he was now.

"Alright those of you who know your way around the kitchen you're welcome to start dinner or something. We'll take him and the girl-"

"Her name is Amy"

Jenner paused and looked to Andrea who looked just as shaky as Harry had been.

"Alright, Amy. We need to take them both to the sick bay. I'll have to check on her vitals and see if anything can be done for her arm." he looked at the girl who was still in the makeshift stretcher and pale as the dead.

"For him not eating for so long could have some pretty detrimental side effects since he's so far along in his pregnancy. Male pregnancies though not as frequently documented as normal ones are known to be a bit unstable and…" he cleared his throat and motioned for them to follow him.

"Do you need help Daryl?" Rick asked and Daryl shook his head, standing then carefully lifting Harry into his arms.

"The rest of you who aren't uh doing anything, the bathrooms are down the hall and the bedrooms are in the hall over."

"Hot water?" he glanced at the woman who was the mother of the boy and carried the same last name as the man who had screamed at him through the camera.

"Lots of it. Soap too. Just try to limit the hot water consumption per person by maybe thirty-minutes or so"

There was an audible sigh of relief and he went ahead.

The sickbay was his favourite and most hated place in the CDC. This was where his wife had been taken after she'd been bitten but it was also where he had met her all those years ago, where they fell in love.

He didn't have to look twice at the girl, at Amy, to know that sepsis had already settled in. Her skin was much too pale and mottled. Since she had been inside he had seen her regain consciousness once and that time was full of slurred words that made no sense.

She had been that way for far too long. If it had been the early stages of sepsis then maybe he would have been able to do something but he bet of he asked her sister, the one that made it a point if him knowing her name, she'd deny cleaning up after the girl- after _Amy_ , when she lost control of her bowels. The girl was a lost cause. Harry however, wasn't.

Swallowing he looked for a stethoscope, having throw his own somewhere he couldn't remember weeks ago.

"You have to take his shirt off so the material doesn't hinder the sound coming through" he got the feeling that the husband Daryl didn't trust him very much, or even liked him but that only tickled his feelings maybe as much as Rick's cries for help had.

Jenner tries to not stare too much, tried to control how his hands trembled and passed it off with a joke about it being a bit cold in the room.

Pressing the cold surface to the chest listened in, counting the beats then moving it to another area. Staring at the developing chest under his palm was easier now that he was listening in to his heartbeat.

Some men developed mammary glands and some didn't. However even if a male's chest developed over 32% of them never lactated, something about hormonal imbalances. Staring at the perk swells he couldn't help but think that Harry's own would definitely lactate. The nipples were already swollen and the man still had a few more months to go.

"How far along did you say he was?" he was trying to listen to the baby's heartbeat now, touching the firm stomach made him shiver and he closed his eyes just to make it seem as if he was concentrating.

"Six.. six and a half months maybe" Daryl grunted and Jenner hummed.

"Everything seems to be fine from what I can see but later on when you're both rested and ate something then I'd like to do a sonogram. You..ah, you haven't had the chance to see your baby yet have you?"

Daryl stared at him for a long moment, before grunting out a no.

"Then it'll be perfect. You two can see your baby for the first time ever and I can see inside of him- to make sure nothing is wrong with the placenta and other bits, but for now I'll hook him up to some fluids and a couple of liquid form vitamins he missed so far."

Daryl nodded and Edwin fiddled with his shirt hem. "If you want to wash up or grab some-"

"No"

"It'll be no problem, he's safe in here and I could always-"

"I said no" he was being glared at now and the man still had the crossbow on his back. Nodding with a smile Jenner backed away.

"Okay. I'll just go and check on my other patient. If you need anything just uh shout"

He left the room and closed the door, going to the one next door where Amy was stretched out.

Listening to her heartbeat he closed his eyes and moved it to another location. Her breathing was a quick breathless pant and her muscles were tense so tightly he was almost afraid to touch her. Heat was radiating off her skin and the bandage on her arm was yellow.

Pressing the pads of his fingers down on her abdomen he winced. Glancing at her sister and the oldest man in the group Edwin shook his head. Her stomach was so rigid it felt like stone. Organ failure was certain death. If she had arrived maybe a week previously then maybe, he would have had the means to help but now?

"I'm sorry but she's in the late stages of sepsis, her organs are already beginning to shut down I… there's nothing that I can do to reverse it she's um" he trailed off seeing as how no one was paying attention to him anylonger. The woman was bawling her eyes out and the old man was giving him a look to 'get out'. He gave his most apologetic look and left. Closing the door behind him.

Going to his room he locked the door behind him, leaning on the door he slid down and finally let himself just breathe and think.

It wasn't as if he was sick. If anything this problem was just repressed feelings he had over never being able to have a child with his wife. Of not being able to see her full with him, never having experienced the pride in making a child that was half him and her.

It wasn't a kink, or something dirty that he should be ashamed of.

He was just expressing the lost of what he never had. It wasn't wrong to have gotten hard over touching someone's belly where their child was gestating.

Nor was it wrong to get off on the memory of how smooth and firm that belly had been, how his nipples and small swells of his chest looked delicious enough that he wanted to just-

Jenner groaned and quickly stripped, heading off to the bed to do it properly.

This wasn't wrong. He was cheated of a life of being able to touch his wife's pregnant stomach, to do everything he had wanted to do with her while she was like that. He had been cheated, and he hated how Daryl wasn't, so taking this bit of pleasure wasn't wrong.

 **.**

 **D.H**

 **.**

After Daryl had strong armed him into the shower which ended up being less of a shower and more of them exploring one another's body, with him getting two orgasms that sent him straight to the gates of heaven and back down; they finally made their way back to the big room.

Dinner was done and when Jacqui saw them coming she stood up and gathered two plates of spaghetti with mixed meat sauce. Daryl took the plates from her half way and from the pleased smile on her face he figured that his gruff husband had thanked her with actual verbal communication and not just a vocal cord.

"You're okay then sugar?" Jacqui asked, petting his hair from where she was sitting beside him after eyebrowing Merle into submission.

He really wanted to laugh when the older Dixon brother moved and then paused as if realizing then that he had actually listened. Merle was still staring at Jacqui oddly but Harry recognised most of his looks by now to know that the man was just simply confused as hell. Daryl was beside himself with laughter his shoulders shaking as he ate.

"I'm okay, was just dehydrated and tired. This should help fix those few days of zero calories" she cooed before pinching his cheek.

"What did I tell you about not drying your hair?" she leaned forward to stare at Daryl "Daryl what did I tell you about making him dry his hair?"

Daryl looked a bit like a deer in headlights, his eyes actually widening to show the blue that Harry considered to be one of the most beautiful colours he ever seen. Jacqui sighed and poured him a glass of soda water considering everyone else except the children had some form of wine or rum.

He noticed that Andrea wasn't at the table and while he was tempted to ask, the mood at the table was light and happy, Dale was there and his face said enough. Any news involving Amy would put a damper on it. He had been keeping an eye on her, that was all he could do when the bandages ran out along with everything else. She had shown classic signs of sepsis which had only progressed further into the final stages.

He had told her when Andrea had disappeared for a bathroom break and she accepted it but had requested to keep it from Andrea. Guilt was still gnawing at his insides but he pushed on. Amy was a smart girl, she knew the risks and accepted them. It was Andrea he was more worried about.

The woman for all her bravado back at the pond in the quarry was in the best sense of words - fragile. Amy's death would hit her hard and even if Harry wanted to he couldn't be the one to catch her when she fell.

"Alright?" he peaked up to meet Daryl's blue and smiled, pressing a kiss to the frown of his lips.

"You're going to have so many wrinkles before our kid is born" he teased, giggling when Daryl glared at him.

"You're going to be a wrinkly daddy" the glare intensified but without any of the normal heat another person would get.

"Shut up" Harry grinned and kissed him again, humming when Daryl kissed back. "Nope, you love when I talk"

"I like it better when you scream" Harry blushed and focused entirely on the food on his plate ignoring the smirk that replaced the frown on Daryl's lips.

His husband was such a bastard.

"Eww.. it's like watching my parents flirt. Please stop it"

Glenn was such a little shit. He hoped a bird shat on him. A very big bird. Like a freaking vulture.

"You do know we're nearly the same age right?"

Glenn had the audacity to look offended and Harry huffed. "But dude, you're all married and about to produce a life and become a parent."

Harry raised an eyebrow "So?" Glenn crossed arms "It's all very mature and.. makes you and Daryl kinda..old"

Harry stabbed at the final bits of his dinner "Well excuse me for wanting a human spawn to carry on these fabulous genes. Between my looks and Daryl's diii-" he sent a look towards Sophia and Carl who were too busy trying to see who could hold their breaths the longest.

"Daryl's _joystick_ , my kid is gonna be pretty blessed thank you very much" Glenn's eyes widened and he leaned back in his seat as if Harry's words were contagious.

"Dude."

Harry shrugged and sipped at his soda water until Jacqui tilted the glass and made him gulp down half of it before she was satisfied.

"Jacquuui you're so mean sometimes" Daryl snorted and poured himself another glass of whiskey, topping off Rick's and even Shane's before passing it down the line to his brother. Shane looked a bit surprised by the action but nodded in thanks while Rick grinned, all happy drunkard already.

"You alright there Rick buddy?" Rick turned to him and squinted before he grinned even wider. "Harry!"

"Rick! Still ain't answer my question buddy"

"I'm brilliant, just super" there was a round of snorts around the table. "Are you now" Rick nodded and leaned forward, beckoning Harry closer even though there were two people between them both.

Harry leaned across his husband and Shane leaned back trying to stay out of the conversation but couldn't. Rick licked his lips and practically threw himself across Shane's lap.

"My best-friend is fucking my wife and I right now I just can't bring myself to care" he stage whispered, words slurring and barely coherent before he giggled.

Harry's eyes widened the same time as Shane and Daryl's; looking up to glance at Lori but like everyone else she was too engrossed in another conversation, the noise level drowning out Rick's drunken slurring. Daryl looked more uncomfortable than anything, taking a huge gulp of his whiskey while Shane looked a bit sick.

"Rick, now's not the time to be talking about that buddy" the former police waved his away but didn't move from where he was sprawled over Shane's lap.

"I know know, but I mean I woul-woulda thought they'd be dis-discret or somethin' but they were just hump… humping like _bunnies_ and-" he belched and Daryl snatched the glass of some very very strong smelling brandy from him, passing it off to Glenn.

"Bottoms up smartass" Glenn looked at the glass then at Daryl who raised an eyebrow until the younger man swallowed the two inches of rum down with a series of coughs afterward.

Rick pushed himself off Shane and stood, swaying on his feet with a sloppy grin on his face, grabbing a bottle glass of water he raised it but Harry knew the poor man thought it was more liquor.

"To our gracious host that pulled us off the streets from getting our asses eaten."

Daryl choked a bit on his spit and Harry pressed his face in his husband's shoulder to hide his blush.

T-Dog cheered and raised his glass of rum and coke while Dale just smiled and raised his own "Here here!"

Glenn giggled and Harry wanted to be a bit peeved at Daryl for getting the younger man drunk from one sip of alcohol but the little shit had called him old. "Booyah!"

"Booyah!" Merle raised his glass as well and the children mimicked him by swallowing their cranberry juice and slamming the glasses down. Harry raised his glass of soda water and Daryl nodded to the man while Lori, Carol and Jacqui gave the man soft smiles.

Jenner had been quiet the entire celebration, not joining in and only saying one worded answers.

"Thaank you Doc, thank-yooou" Rick swallowed a mouthful of the water and shook his head. Slapping Shane on the shoulder until he raised his third glass of cognac to Jenner and knocked it back to refill it again.

"Not to make the mood gloomy but mind telling us what happened here Doc?" Dale's question was met by many groans and objections. Jenner shrugged "When things got bad people left to be with their families, then when military got overrun the remaining few bolted."

"Every last one?" Harry's eyes flickered from Jenner to Shane and back. The doctor shook his head, pouring himself another glass of scotch.

"No, some of them couldn't bare the idea of stepping out through the doors so they.. had other methods. There were lots of suicides that week, I would say it was darker than what was going on outside of the doors" he laughed a bit and shrugged again.

"And what about you. Why didn't you leave"

Jenner gave Carol a queer look "I had work to do, I kept working when everyone else deserted hope"

He stood suddenly and everyone followed him with their eyes, Rick who was too out of it just watched behind blurry eyes but Daryl was tense.

"Let me show you all the living room where you'll have to sleep. The couches are big enough and soft enough if you want but there are bedroom available. Everything in this place is powered down, so try not to use anything that draws power including the hot water"

"Hot water?" it was a bit comical how everyone's intoxicated bodies seemed to get second wind at the mention of hot water shower.

Jenner gave them a slightly annoyed look "I told you all this before- you know what never mind. The showers have hot water but try to limit your time to fifteen minutes the most now"

After that everyone dispersed, Shane and Merle helping Rick to the couches and dropping in a single seat one before they disappeared to find a shower themselves, Shane taking a full bottle of cognac with him.

Daryl tucked himself around Harry on the bed, throwing the sheet and then the comforter around them both. "That okay?"

Harry hummed and even though his back was hurting like a bitch and he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep like this without at least three pillow under his body at angles to help shift the weight of the baby he'd stay still long enough for Daryl to fall asleep.

It didn't take as long as he thought it would. Within ten minutes or so Glenn was the first to arrive from the showers, looking refreshed when he knocked on the door, peeking in and murmuring a good night. Daryl was already down, arms slack around his belly and breathing deep.

Wiggling his fingers at Glenn he whispered for the man to help him up and after a touch and go trail error of nearly falling down again he was on his two feet. "Thanks"

Glenn shrugged and shuffled back towards the door "No problem man"

Finding Shane was easy enough. All he had to do was follow the angry shouts of a woman that sounded exactly like Lori then go in the opposite direction as the fuming woman who threw him a dirty look. Knocking the door to the room she had left open he saw Shane pressing a hand to his neck, four angry scratches on the skin that were bleeding.

"Trouble in paradise?" he closed the door a bit, leaving it a bit ajar. Shane sneered at him but didn't answer.

"Why haven't you told him yet" Shane looked confused and Harry guessed it was the alcohol still in his system rather than been totally clueless.

"That day in the hospital when it got taken by the dead and the soldiers began to to shoot anything that so much as twitched."

"How do you know about that?" Shane stood straight and Harry eased himself down in one of the chairs of the rec room a very flat look on his face.

"I'm pretty sure I told everyone that I was stationed there for a while, that I was Rick's doctor after everyone fled and left the ICU patients for dead. Don't tell me you thought I was bluffing…"

Shane shrugged and Harry rolled his eyes so hard his vision went dark for a moment. "Wankers all of you"

Circling the mouth of the bottle with his thumb he ran a hand through his wet hair before sitting across from Harry. "What- _why_ should I tell him. You heard him tonight. _He knows_. _You_ know… fuck you know and so does Dixon"

Why indeed. Rick had ranted on more than one occasion about how he felt being left to die. About being abandoned by his best-friend and family and with each rant it lost the vigor the previous one had held, until he had asked Harry

' _Why did they leave me to die? why did someone who didn't know me cared more about my life than my bestfriend and my wife? Is it supposed to be that way?'_

And Harry had no answer to give his friend.

"Because he's angry-"

Shane snorted "No shit Sherlock"

"That you all abandoned him, that you left him to die" Harry continued as if he hadn't been just rudely interrupted.

"I didn't abandon him" Harry raised an eyebrow and Shane growled, slamming the bottle down on the wooden table. "I didn't!"

"He believes that. Then he realized that you and Lori were bumping the ugly bits and well you can see how that looks from a third party viewing"

"I didn't- it was… it wasn't like that"

Harry really and truly couldn't believe he was playing therapist to a man that wanted to kill him back at the quarry for just stating his opinion or god forbid breathing. But he had realized something very early on in the game of Shane Walsh. There were two very different Shane's.

The one who was all hate when Lori prompted him to join in on her game, on her terms and then there was this one- this confused and frustrated and oh so very sad man that wasn't influenced by anything but his emotions.

So yes, he was playing therapist to Shane, if only so it'd help Rick.

Whenever Rick wanted to rant about waking up alone in the hospital, about being abandoned, he'd always start off with the 'good ole days' the 'sagas of Rick and Shane'. He'd talk about how they met, the trouble they got into, how they had instantly clicked, about the dreams they had as boys and young men, about who they dated and so on.

Then it would get slowly bitter the more Lori came into the picture, as if all the colours had been sapped from the image and only left in muted black and white.

His god-father had always said that when something didn't fit in such a once perfect picture then you cut it out and glue the two pieces back together that fit. The jagged edges of the torn pieces would eventually look normal, until you no longer noticed they had once been torn.

Then again that had been the same man who had told the story of how he proposed to his then boyfriend with a ring-pop because he didn't want to be classy.

"He's angry Shane" and that may have been the very first time he said the man's name in civility.

"I know that! Don't you think I know that?"

"But he's also hurt"

Shane bit his lip and hung his head "Why are doing this?"

"I don't want Rick to be a broken man any more than you do" that got Shane to look up, surprise in his brown eyes.

"Wouldn't it be better if he just hated me? Hated me enough to kill me or run me out of the group? Didn't you hear him tonight, my best-friend is fucking my wife. He's already broken, there's no going back from that- from what I did"

Harry rubbed his thumb where his baby was resting. "Is that what you want to do to him? Kill him or make him leave?" Daryl would flip his shit of he woke up and realized that Harry was in an enclosed room with a man who he had had to defend him against.

Shane let out a shaky breath but didn't deny it.

"Can you do it? Could you do it if push came to shove?"

"I-I don't know" at least the man was being honest with him and no evading his questions.

"You need to explain to him what happened, why you had to leave."

Shane glared at Harry and Harry was beginning to think that was default expression for many of the men in his life.

"Then why don't you! Didn't you tell him what happened in the hospital? About why it was so deserted?"

Harry nodded "So why the fuck do I have to tell him again huh?! What difference would it make between which one of us telling him the same fucking story?!"

Harry looked up at the now standing man, Shane's chest rising and falling in quick succession.

"The same difference it made being nursed back to health by a total stranger instead of by the people he considered family" Harry felt a bit bad when the other man stepped back, the flinch almost as if he'd been slapped.

Harry braced himself on the armrests of the couch and eased himself up, taking the bottle of cognac out of Shane's reach and corked it. "He's told me stories of you, how you once got roofied and he had to save you then drag you home with a hole in your pants"

While that was terrifying to think about because duh- rape, it was pretty funny to think about and Shane seemed to agree, snorting, his lips twitching into a smile.

"The dude who did that was huge and Rick's face looked fucked up for nearly two weeks after"

Harry smiled "Or the one where you tried to deepthroat a beer bottle" Shane coughed, a blush staining his cheeks as he tried to stop laughing just so he could cough.

"If I had a friend like that, of someone who cared so much about me, who risked getting a hole in their pants as well from a man three times their size, I'd never let them go."

"You're lucky Shane. Until I met Daryl I didn't have anyone and God knows those years were dark and lonely, and even then I was just this annoying kid who followed him around because he would give me my first meal in days and help me clean and hide my bruises. Not because I was seeking companionship or a friend. But he gave me that despite having some of the same bullshit on his end"

He was definitely on a ball if he managed to startle the former cop like that.

"You-"

Harry shrugged. "I had a shitty uncle and hard first couple years of life but it eventually got better. A lot better"

Shane was silent for a while, just staring at him and Harry let him. What seemed like some deep psychic evaluation ended Shane nodded tightly and Harry smiled.

Pausing by the door he turned to look at Shane who suddenly looked so much smaller.

"I know that we uh, got off on the wrong foot but don't wait too long before you tell Rick. He looks like the sort of extreme idiot who'd grow a beard and suddenly go off the deep end"

He cracked a grin when Shane chuckled, closing the door behind him he jumped when Jenner was only a foot away from him, blue eyes steady and still creeping him out.

"You should be taking it easy. Doctor's orders" and there was that crooked smile again.

Harry smiled and nodded, waiting until the man moved along before he shuffled as quickly as he could back to the bed with Daryl who wrapped his arms around him again, snuggling into the back of his neck. Four pillows were on the bed and he twisted a bit to find Daryl staring at him, eyes as lethargic as the man probably felt.

"I got them for you from the smartass next door" he mumbled and Harry smiled brightly at his dopey looking husband. "Thank-you" Daryl grunted but didn't close his eyes, watching Harry as he wiggled around on the bed.

Shifting he rearranged the pillows, kissing Daryl on the cheek when he got a sleepy gaze "Go back to sleep hon"

Daryl grumbled but obeyed and Harry sighed. His feet were killing him but his back was hurting more. The woes of being pregnant he guessed. Sometime in the night he heard another door close and Harry turned in Daryl's hold.

They would be alright, so long as no one decided to blow them up while they slept Harry believed they would sort it all out.

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 **D.H**

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 **A/n:** I may have paint Dr. Jenner as less nice and more of a paranoid unhinged fuck who misses his wife so badly he basically lives off of the memory of her and what 'could have been' had she lived.

This chapter was a sorry for the long assed wait you guys had to endure for chapter 6. See? I'm a nice enough gal.

Oh and **Jacquelyn Frost** \- I can totally imagine Shane and Rick having hate sex :P

Read and Review guys~!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n:** It's been a while yes I know and I'm sorry. I just needed a break from people in general, both online and in real life. Sorry for any mistakes found.

 **Warnings:** Character deaths, more than likely bogus medical stuff.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **the human part—that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct"**

 **-Dr. Edwin Jenner**

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Chapter Eight

Now statically the chances him of him remembering who the hell Edwin Jenner was was close to nil, what with the whole zombie apocalypse bringing the human race to the brink extinction, societies collapsing, death and mayhem everywhere and then the particularly gory aspect of watching people get eaten while they were still alive and screaming.

Then let's not forget losing his husband amidst the chaos, hiding out while soldiers shot anything that so much as twitched and then finding, taking care and becoming friends with Rick before he was reunited with Daryl. So if his memory of a man he was supposed to have met up with several long months ago was a bit shady then la de dah, string him up by his toes and call him a pagan.

He could hardly summon the energy to deal with Jenner between the odd lingering stares and even odder smiles, but now the man was in his face asking if he remembered who he was and if he doesn't recall that they were supposed to have met up before the outbreak went countrywide.

He had said no, and had politely asked him to move.

It really didn't help that he had slept badly last night and everything from the back of his neck to his fucking toes were hurting something fierce.

It was nearly after eight and most of the group were in the showers including Daryl and it had been nearly ten minutes since Harry left him to his own devices so he shouldn't be much longer.

"You must recognize my name Harrison."

Harry grimaced because hearing his birth given name leaving the man's mouth was far weirder than the stares. Not even Daryl his husband called him 'Harrison' and here was a total stranger saying it.. ugh.

"I go by Harry not Harrison and I'm sorry I don't. Now can you please move?"

Jenner shook his head. "That night, when Rick came banging on the doors, when I saw him I had intended on ignoring all of you, your group wasn't my business and if they got eaten oh well, but then I saw you. Your face was so very familiar but I couldn't place it."

Harry was slowly becoming aggravated and had two minds to scream for help.

"I couldn't let the chance pass by, so I opened the doors, if there was a chance I knew you then you'd have to be a doctor or a scientist since I don't- haven't interacted with anyone beyond those professions."

Jenner grinned and leaned in closer his blue eyes wide and queerly warm enough that Harry quickly put a hand out to push the man back instead of the shove he wanted to give.

One of the side effects of being pregnant was not only the constant peeing, hunger, occasional cravings, aches and pains along with bruises because your baby was a strong little shit, but also the fact that if by some chance the person who was borderline harassing you turned out to be a psycho who would sooner bang your head against a wall than be fought against he couldn't risk it. Because to risk it would mean risking his baby's safety.

"So I searched in the files of visitors, then the ones about transferring doctors from the country, then I checked the archives for doctors coming from overseas and then I found you. I knew you were familiar, I knew it."

Harry narrowed his eyes because he couldn't see where the conversation was going. Yes he was supposed to have been stationed at the CDC but after the outbreak and finding Rick he couldn't very well have left the man alone to die.

"So what now?"

Jenner tilted his head and smiled. "Now nothing."

"Nothing?" Harry eyed Jenner as the man leaned back then stepped away and took out some powdered packages from the fridge, placing them on the counter.

"Nothing. When your friends come tell them that there's powdered eggs and aspirin in the top cupboard. Afterwards I've got something extraordinary to show you all. You especially will like it."

The man smiled again and left the kitchen, going up the short four steps and then disappearing from sight. Harry felt like slumping to the ground but knew if he did; the probability of him getting back up on his own was impossible so he made his way to a chair and sat down.

It wasn't long before T-Dog came in, chirping a bright good-morning before he ah'ed and the found packages of eggs and began to whip them up, the smell of frying eggs even dehydrated ones were close to that of fresh ones and his baby made itself known by kicking him, a demand to be fed.

Hands on his shoulders made him jump and look up to see Daryl peering at him, eyes narrowing a bit more and normally Harry would made a joke about him closing his eyes completely and learning to navigate without sight but now he was just grateful it was his husband and not someone else.

"What's got you so jumpy."

Daryl never really learned to use question marks when speaking, or writing for that matter and Harry smiled, tugging him down a bit to kiss him. Daryl made a small noise of surprise but went along with it easy enough, taking his time in greeting Harry for a second time that morning.

"I'm okay, just a bit tired since I didn't sleep so well."

"Your back."

He hummed, tilting his head when Daryl nibbled at his neck. "Everywhere hurts mostly, your kid is a menace"

Daryl snorted "My kid huh,"

Harry shrugged looking apologetically. "That's the dynamic babes, when it does something momma doesn't like it's yours. When it's an angel it's mine."

Daryl looked as if he wanted to be bemused but his mouth was betraying him by smiling "Really now. What happens when it's in neutral."

Harry blinks and actually considers that "Then it's ours, or we could just ditch it on Merle and watch him fumble"

"He'll drop our baby Harry."

"He wouldn't dare."

"He might."

"Not if he values his life and balls. You're already passing on the Dixon genetics, his swimmers won't be needed if it's a boy… then again, I'm sure you might have a couple of nieces and nephews somewhere. Merle was never uh..saintly or careful."

Daryl raised an eyebrow at him and Harry blushed "I walked in on him half-way through more than once..don't look at me like that! It's not like I wanted to see your brother making the beast with two backs!"

Daryl just snorted and helped him up from the chair, expression amused and Harry glared at him "Not funny you bastard" Daryl just grunted and guided him to a chair at the table where T-Dog was setting plates of steaming eggs and baked beans.

Despite what Merle said about the man Harry like T-Dog well enough, when not being pushed into a corner was witty, had a surprisingly extensive knowledge about dogs and birds citing he had wanted to be a vet earlier on in life and could cook for sure.

Jacqui had said something about him being a cook in the prison where he was serving his sentence and if Merle would just calm down a bit then he and T-Dog would have some stuff in common.

After Daryl arrived a slow flow of people came through, the level of separation clear based on those with no hangovers and those with hangovers enough to make them bitch like Glenn.

Jacqui was smiling as she rubbed the former pizza delivery man's back, patting it while Glenn just laid there and groaned, dragging a plate of eggs and beans towards him, and stuffing a fluffy piece of it into his mouth without holding his head up from the table top, the coffee cup close by as well.

Merle came stumbling in after Carol and Lori who were followed by their children all bright eyed and as cheerful as T-Dog was. The older Dixon stink-eyed everyone and ignored the knife and fork in favor of his hands, swallowing his own coffee down piping hot.

Rick and Shane came last, Rick squinting and walking slowly while Shane tried to put as much distance between him and the other former policeman. Harry raised an eyebrow at Shane who avoided his gaze.

Rolling his eyes Harry sighed because really, what else was he supposed to do? Lock them in a closet and tell them to kiss and makeup?

If life was as easy as some doujinshi both Shane and Rick would be having some very angry sex in an empty room then afterwards pretending nothing happened.. ah simple times.

Harry had only just finished his plate before Jenner came by, most of the people around him greeting the doctor in some way. Jenner locked eyes with him and smiled making Harry look away.

"Dad are you hungover? Mom says you are."

Rick tipped his head, smiling at Carl "Yea, you can say that."

Harry never saw a kid look so excited to hear that his father was suffering from the aftereffects of heavy drinking.

"So does that mean uncle Shane is hungover as well?" Harry watched as Shane flinched when Rick looked his way, though Rick's face held nothing but humor and a bit of self-loathing.

"Yea, Shane is pretty hung-over too buddy." he said a bit dry around the mouth and even drier in words.

"Cool!" everyone at the table laughed and even Daryl snorted.

Jenner coughed and clapped his hands "Well if everyone is fed and satisfied I have something to show you"

Daryl helped him up, keeping his arm wrapped around his waist as they walked down the short few steps that led to the big room, a huge flat screen on the wall.

"I'm going to show you all something that very few people have seen, very very few people." Jenner grinned, looking as excited as he had this morning when he had cornered Harry against a wall and Harry inched closer to Daryl.

"Give me a playback of TS-19 VI."

There was a beep before the computerized voice of the woman echoed back "Playback of TS-19."

A huge 3-D view of a human skull appeared in the screen and both children oo'ed at it.

"Is that a brain?"

Carl asked and everyone turned to look at Jenner who nodded. "An extraordinary one. Not that it mattered much in the end. VI take us to E.I.V."

"What's E.I.V?" Sophia asked and Harry answered before his brain caught up "Enhanced internal view. We're going to see the inside of the brain"

VI said the same as well and Jenner looked much too please but Harry ignored him instead winking at Sophia who mimicked Carl in the stunned look on their faces.

"You know what that means Harry? How?"

Harry shrugged at the boy "It was a part of my job as doctor"

"You looked at brains?"

"Studied them."

Carl and Sophia oo'ed again and he found himself the center of attention from both children and adults, even Merle looked a bit surprised and he was going to have a very serious conversation with his brother-in-law about paying attention to when someone was speaking to him. He had lost count of how many times he'd told Merle what he did for a living.

"Like a surgeon?"

Jenner beat him to the punch "No he wouldn't have to. He's the one that treats head illness like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and stuff like that"

Carl and Sophia just looked confused by the obviously big words, rolling his eyes he tapped Carl's shoulder to gain the little boy's attention again.

"I prescribe medication for things like headaches and epilepsy. Remember Becca the girl from your second grade class? Your dad told me that she had epilepsy which made her have seizures and made her sick sometimes. Remember when you ran to find a teacher during the play break?"

Carl nodded. "Well I help people who have illnesses like that, as well as injuries to your spinal cord-" he ran his index finger down Carl's back and the boy giggled, twisting away from the offending finger. "I also help people with nervous disorders like if their hands can't stop shaking"

"So you don't actually go into their brain then? To operate?" Harry looked at Carol and shook his head. "I wouldn't want to even if I could, surgery really isn't my thing"

"Obviously" Lori muttered and Harry poked Sophia in her side making the girl giggle as well.

Somewhere along their conversation the screen had changed and Harry stared at the huge screen, taking in the blue lights that danced around the inside of the brain, like an electrical current that ran along and through a powerline.

"What are those blue lights?" Shane asked and Jenner grinned waving to the screen.

"Everything that makes you, you. Your life, experiences, memories. Somewhere in all that organic writing is what made you unique from all the billions of other humans on this planet. Not just your face because you can always find someone with similar facial structures like you, but your _life_ and what made you human, what made you the personification of originality."

"I dunno about any of them but what you just said don't make any sense" Merle drawled and a few people murmured in agreement.

Harry sighed "They're synapses Merle" he didn't mean to snap at the man but the view on the screen was incredible and he wondered just who it was that was showing signs of such erratic brain waves.

"Electric impulses- The stuff that dictates what you do, how your arm swings, how high your leg raises, what you say, how you say it, what you think about, how often you form thoughts and opinions. The synapses carries messages from the moment you are born to the moment you die"

"Death? Then what's this a vigil?" Rick crossed his arms and Jenner looked unfazed.

"Yes or rather the playback of the vigil"

"Who was it? The person that you are recording" Harry turned to look at Jenner,

"You called our CDC back in England asking for a few more recruits, you were given twelve; myself not included and you're recording how the neuron's send messages?"

"You worked at the CDC?"

"Holy shit Harry how smart are you?"

"So he goes from a doctor to a CDC employee?"

Jenner shrugged "After the first small outbreak we were given a subject to experiment on, but they had already been rotting away in a warehouse, their blue synapses for memory, thoughts, communication went dead so after a few hours we put it down. VI bring up the video of test subject number one from lab twelve."

"Number one, lab twelve" the computerized woman echoed and another screen popped up showing a video of a thrashing man, around his eyes dark and sunken in with yellow white eyes and blood stained teeth. He had a very big and deep bite mark on his shoulder and a small chain attached a collar around his neck.

"We were trying to communicate with it using all forms of language transmission possible from sign language, braille, video, written. Nothing worked. We didn't understand just how… dangerous someone like him could be and he bit one of our staff who hid the wound until it festered and she turned, taking out a few more of our medical personnel and even two security guards."

"So you downplay the danger of someone with half their shoulder gone, get people killed and suddenly ask for back-up from our agency for your fuck up?"

"In a crude sense of the situation, yes."

"How can you disregard safety measures like that? You were told that excessive force was to be used when handling an infected person and instead you place it on a flimsy piece of chain and leave your doctors in a room with him without any sort of weapon?"

Jenner gave a small shrug. "It was a unanimous agreement that maybe the media and some people were exaggerating."

Harry sputtered, looking at the man as if he had two heads "Exaggerating? The message was clear. Everyone had their orders to try and contain the outbreak where people were _cannibalizing other people_ and you thought it was a misrepresentation of the truth? Are you fucking nuts?"

"Harry calm down." he waved batted away Daryl's arm and glared at Jenner who remained as impassive as ever, not a ounce of remorse on his face.

"Are you telling me that a virus which affected five states over here, which caused a man to eat his neighbor's bloody _cat_ and get shot several times by two police officers all over the chest, abdomen, knees and throat, who repeatedly got up after each round and was only taken down by a bullet to the head was not a threat?"

"It was a fault on our end to not believe the consequences would be that drastic and we were going to make up for it by using one of the staff who were still alive but orders came in to execute them before they turned as well"

"You are fucking crazy-"

"And you should have been here stationed as your sector promised. Our neurologist got bitten and we were short staffed you-"

"Who's brain is it that was being recorded?"

"Test subject 19, someone who volunteered to be recorded after they were bitten and infected. VI scan forward to the first event"

The screen paused and the time in the corner of the screen moved quickly until it stopped and Harry narrowed his eyes, staring at the dark patch in the center where there should be healthy and living synapses moving.

Glenn leaned forward and pointed to the same dead area of neurons "What is that?"

Jenner zoomed in to the chunk of dead synapses "It invades the brain like meningitis, the adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain shuts down completely then all the major organs go next. After that is death. Everything you ever were or could be… gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim mommy?" Carol looked a bit uncomfortable but she nodded "Yes."

"Is that what's going to happen to my sister?" heads swiveled to Andrea and Harry was glad he wasn't the only one to wince at Andrea's appearance, the woman looking as if she had lost weight in the day and half they had been at the CDC, skin pale and drawn with worry and now horror.

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 **D.H**

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Jenner shrugged one shoulder "Since the arm was amputated before the virus could spread the chances of her dying like TS-19 are no longer a problem. But now she's in a later stage of sepsis, so eventually without much doubt she will die."

Edwin stared at the woman as she broke down, her legs giving out on her and two of the group running towards her - Dale and Jacqui if he remembered correctly.

If he had to self-diagnose himself he'd say that he was a bit out of touch with reality, that the toll of seeing his friends and colleagues die and commit suicide, the dead murder and eat those who were stationed outside of the building and then witnessing his wife deteriorate before his eyes made him a bit unhinged.

He hadn't lied when he said that they had thought the warnings from the head of the departments had been bogus, that homeland security were just been too careful. Candace had believed them, had known that the threat was so much greater than he and anyone else imagined.

He also hadn't lied when he told them about the first reanimated corpse they had tested on.

He had seen the exact moment the chain broke, had been one of the first to run for the door.

Amelia Erine, a fiery brunette with an amazing brain and a talent for logistics, she wasn't even a part of their department but had insisted on helping when many left to be with their families. She had been the closest to the TS-1, a man listed as Gregory Lanchester, aged 42 with a picture of his family in the wallet.

He should have seen when she was bitten but at that time he was too preoccupied with checking Candace for any injuries, and since Amelia wasn't a part of their department everyone figured that she been spooked by the attack and fled.

Two days later there were screams as Amelia stumbled into one of the break rooms where several interns and a few residents were resting up. He had watched the video feed after the incident. Everyone was minding their own business, texting, sleeping or conversing with someone else when she had entered. Her first victim had been Ahmed Rooke, she had bit into his neck and Edwin remembered thinking ' _So much blood from such a small kid'_

His screams alerted everyone and Amelia lunged again dragging down Stacey Talloway a resident scientist, biting into her leg and rupturing an artery.

Because of Ahmed and Stacey they had discovered that it doesn't take hours or days for the person to reanimate, for some people it took less than ten minutes.

He had watched as both intern and doctor died, bleeding out from both respective fatal wounds and then two minutes after Ahmid stopped breathing he came back to life, Stacey was five minutes behind him. After that it had been carnage until security took them down.

He had also said that they executed anyone that was bitten during the attack but that was only after they had tested them, measured their brain waves, took their vitals and recorded how long it took for them to die then turn. Tissue samples, blood work, fucking urine examinations.

At first they thought that there was something unique about everyone that was bitten, that there was something which drew the revived cadavers to others, like a smell, or specific blood type. But after examining each and every victim any comparisons became smaller and smaller until there was none.

The reanimated attacked anyone and anything that had a beating heart. The man from Culver City- Patrick Sutherland who was found eating a cat. They tested that theory by placing rats inside of the room with three separate revived dead and watched as all three devoured the rodents.

After that, they were executed.

By examining their brain they found that all the synapses for thought, communication.. everything that made them human went dark and the only ones that were alive were the ones that drove hunger and moment, if just barely.

Then Candace told him she was bitten. She volunteered to be tested, to be recorded, to be of some use before she died like all the others. She had made him promise to shoot her before she came back

' _I don't want to become something- something that you don't recognize. I don't want to be a killer Edwin. Promise me you'll do it, that you won't let me turn into one of them.'_

He had tried to reassure her that she wouldn't, that maybe she wouldn't turn like the others because he wanted to believe that the love of his life would be safe and sound, that she would make it. Candace for all her gentleness, all her genuinity and love and brains knew better.

That the man he was before no longer took precedence when the world would never be the same again, might never have a fighting chance especially since he lost any data that could've helped it.

Seeing Andrea cry as she did reminded him of when Candace died, how he had lost all composure and the only reason he hadn't followed in the other's footsteps was because she had asked him to live, to try to fix things in her place.

But how could he when he wasn't nearly as smart, nearly as brilliant as she was? During the times he had tried to find whatever it was that could neutralize the virus, that could stop and reverse the effects it had on the body and brain he wished he had been the one to get bitten.

Still wished it in fact, because then maybe Candace would've made a difference, would have made _the_ difference he couldn't figure out.

If Candace had lived in his place she would've found a cure by now, she would've fought to stay alive and not slowly sink into the shell he was now.

He was numb to it all, to the death and the morbid fact that the movies were true just ten times less gritty and terrifying than they could have ever wished to have portrayed through a screen.

Past him may have been loving, but that went with his wife into the incinerator, compassion and kindness all flew the coop next. Life had no meaning anymore, life was barely the definition of itself and seeing Rick and the others plan for the future was laughable.

What future? A future of always running and fighting, starving and wondering when your next meal would be or of you been eaten by something that was once human?

He looked at the two children then at the one still developing within Dr. Harrison Black.

It would be a lot kinder to end their lives while they were still innocent to the horrors that would no doubt arise. The dead would hardly be the only thing to fear out there now that laws no longer existed. He may have failed in finding a cure but he could preserve that ignorant innocence before the world turned them cold or worse yet, take their lives.

"I know how you feel, I lost someone too. I know how devastating it could be, how it will be but compared to us, they are and will be in a better place"

He didn't think the woman heard him, the old man taking her back down the hallway no doubt back to her sister.

"Scan to second event" the screen skipped again "The resurrection times vary from minutes to hours and sometimes days. The longest we heard of here was eight hours. For this patient… it was two hours, one minute.. seven seconds"

He stared at the brain that was engulfed in darkness save for a few red lights at the base that lit up sporadically around the larger part of it but nothing like in the first viewing where it was alive with movement and lights.

"It restarts the brain after they die?" Lori asked and he shook his head.

"No just the brain stem, it gets them up and going again."

"So why is everything so dark except for that spot down there? It's all different."

"That's because the frontal lobe, the neocortex.. all the stuff that makes you human is dead, when they reanimate it doesn't come back. _You_ don't come back, those red lights there are just the baser instincts to eat and move."

Jenner was oddly pleased with hearing the only other person who knew science explain it, even though technically he shouldn't be since it was his profession.

"You would have been a great asset to our team had you arrived as we were promised."

He smiled despite the glare that was sent his way.

"And what? Join the rest of those unlucky bastards who jumped the boat? I got side tracked by a favor then decided to save my ass and hide from the soldiers who were gunning down people like flies."

"We could've used you here, you could've made a difference even if just a small one-"

"And I did. I saved Rick, I helped him to get back to his family and he helped me find mine. I'm sorry about what happened here but I wouldn't change my decision even if I could."

He supposed he could see logic in that. If he had a chance to save Candace then he wouldn't care if the world burned behind him, as long as she was safe and sound.

He turned away from the screen when the subject moved, it's mouth opening and closing as it's head turned left and right.

He knew what happened next all too well.

The image of the barrel of a gun rested on its forehead before a bullet pierced the skull and travelled down through the brain and the red clusters. The person who was being recorded stopped moving as their brain went completely dark.

Edwin licked his lips. "VI power down the screen and work stations"

"Did you figure out what it is? The virus?"

He shook his head "It could be microbial, parasitic, fungal. It's obvious it travels through saliva, maybe even blood transmission but it being airborne is another possibility."

"Maybe it's the wrath of God."

Jenner glanced at Jacqui his lips quirking "Maybe, it would certainly seem as if he's punishing us."

Carol stepped forward and he turned to give him her attention "There have to be other people, other places that can help right?"

"I've been in the dark for over a long time now. No communication with other places, no transmissions, everything is down."

"Uhh not to bother you or anything doc but what's that clock for? The one that's counting down?"

Everyone turned to look at it and Jenner grimaced "The basement generators, they run out of fuel."

He glanced at the clock again and walked past Rick to head back to his room. "And then?" he ignored the question and went straight to his room where he had the photo album of him and Candace, locking and closing the door behind him.

He couldn't wait to see his beautiful Candace again.

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 **D.H**

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In hindsight he should have remembered that some CDC's in different countries had the fail-safe last option plan to eradicate every piece of evidence and sample in case of a scenario such as this one.

Britain had a similar method that involved the labs being shut down doors sealed shut before it was set a fire. In the event of a contamination mishap rooms that held diseases such as Ebola virus, Marburg virus, HIV, Smallpox virus and Influenza were destroyed.

Normally those who were in charge of the systems would control which rooms got decontaminated but seeing as how Jenner was the last remaining operative in the building besides himself, VI would take over and ensure the entire building was cleansed - which for them was not a very good thing.

This was like a bad horror movie. First the air stopped flowing, then the lights went out, there was a very audible sound of the systems powering down and then the whirring completely coming to a stop.

He squeezed Jacqui's hand "We need to get out of here. This place is going to go up in flames"

Jacqui's eyes widened and he squeezed her hand tighter, pulling her closer. "In flames? As in an explosion?"

Majority of the group had gone in search of the generators but if the place was shutting down he figured all of them were empty or were soon going to be. Their best bet would be to try and exit through the doors they came in if they even opened anymore now that operational structures were powered down.

"Places like this, the CDC, crazy shit goes on in here, diseases that wiped out millions of people like smallpox, ebola - logically they can't be released back into the world so in case of emergencies as a last resort the building will perform a structure wide decontamination to destroy any of those potentially dangerous viruses. Normally it can be limited to a few rooms but that takes a team of maybe six or eight."

"Maybe we can do it, we have more than six here Harry."

He shook his head. Maybe if the building was running at full power with more to spare in keeping those viruses on ice but power and times wasn't something they had going for them right now.

"It won't work. All the systems are down so VI would see this as a last resort, it's in her programming to ensure nothing escapes that could pose a threat."

"Are we a threat?"

"We might as well be if we can't get out."

Rick and the others came back, Daryl snatching up a bottle of what could have been scotch and took a swing from it, Merle snatching it from his hand and Harry couldn't even bother to glare at them both, not when the clock was at thirty-seven minutes and counting.

"Dad!" Carl came running down, Sophia close at his heels with their mothers following at a more sedate pace.

"Rick what's going on, why are the air and lights off and everything so dark?" Lori asked Rick who was hugging Carl, Sophia lingering close by as well.

"All nonessential uses of power are being turned off, it's designed to keep the computers running to very last second."

They all turned toward Jenner who was coming down decked out with his id card pinned on his shirt, he snatched the bottle from Merle's hand ignoring the curse sent his way as he swallowed three mouthfuls and handed it back.

"It was the French."

Glenn took the bait seeing as how no one was asking "What was the French?"

Jenner turned to him, in his pocket was a picture of someone. "They were the last ones to hold out. While the people here fled and killed themselves they worked in their labs to the last moment. I heard they were close to a solution."

"What happened to them?" Jacqui asked, her hand still holding onto Harry's own.

Jenner waved his hand around "The same thing that happened here. They ran out of fuel and out of time. No power, no juice" he chuckled "The world runs out of fossil fuel, how stupid is that?"

Shane looked ready to tackle the man but Rick grabbed his arm pulling him back "Forget it! Let's get our stuff and leave this place. Lori pack our things, everyone gather what you can and meet back at the entrance!"

Shane yanked his arm from Rick's hold but didn't protest "Ya'll heard Rick, get your stuff and let's move!"

 **.**

 **D.H**

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"Hey! Old man! We're leavin' so grab your shit an' get down by the door or we leave without you!"

Dale stared wide eyed at Merle who left as quickly as he came before he turned to Andrea who hadn't moved from the spot she was in for over an hour now.

Amy had been dead for about three and she had yet to let go of her sister's hand even the machines pronounced that her heart had stopped, the flatline only stopping recently when all the power went out.

Placing his hand on her shoulder he squeezed it. "Andrea… we need to leave."

Her shoulder twitched but he guessed it was just a muscle spasm. "You can go" her voice was rough from days of crying and hours of unused vocals and Dale's heart strings tugged painfully for the woman he had grown to care about during his time knowing her.

"I'm not leaving without you. Amy would want-"

"Amy would want to be alive! Why should I live when my baby sister- when my baby sister can't be?!"

"Andrea…"

"I'm not leaving. What is there to live for now huh? There's nothing out there but blood and pain and so much hurt and I can't- I can't do it…"

"We'll find somewhere that we can live peacefully. Rick and Shane know what they're doing, they'll find us someplace so please Andrea, we have to go."

Andrea turned, her moments stiff and a bit jerky as she stared at Dale, her blue red rimmed eyes staring into his brown. Drawing in a shaking breath she chuckled a watery laugh, her hand still holding onto the rigid and cold one of Amy.

"I was never a good sister y'know. Always out partying, at the lake with friends, shopping and then away to school. She'd beg me to come home for her birthdays and summer vacation to spend time with her but I didn't want to. I didn't want my annoying twelve years younger sister following me around because it wasn't cool y'know. Who'd want a baby following them around the mall where we're talking about sex and boys and mid terms"

Tears welled up in Andrea's eyes again making her blue eyes brighter even in the dim light and Dale reached out, wrapping his arms around her in a hug just before she moaned out a sob.

"I wasn't good enough to her… I wasn't good to my baby sister until the end and now I can't fix it! I was supposed to have protected her and I didn't and now she's… my baby sister's dead Dale and-and…"

Dale sniffed, blinking back the tears because his job was to comfort her not cry as well and he was surprised when he felt both her arms wraps around him.

"It hurts, it hurts so much Dale, so much that I wanna die because that way we- I could be with Amy, I could-"

Dale rubbed her back as the woman cried, and though he wanted to look away from the bloody patch of red on the white sheet that was thrown over Amy's body where Andrea had stuck a knife in her head after she died he couldn't.

"Amy was so sweet and no matter how many times I told her no she'd just ask again because she was stubborn like that y'know. So stubborn and weird and sweet and oh god…"

"Andrea… I know how it is to lose someone you love so much that your heart squeezes and makes you feel as if you'd collapse. I know, believe me god _I know_ but Andrea our loved ones - Amy that sweet girl wouldn't want you her big sister to die. You know she wouldn't so if you won't come with me and leave for me then please do it for her. Live on for her, let her live through you!"

Andrea's shaking stopped and for a moment he thought he said too much too soon when she pulled away and turned back to the blood stained sheet. Gently pulling it off her head she choked on a cry as slowly dragged her fingers over the cold skin of Amy's cheek, the girl's lips dark blue now.

Leaning down she pressed a kiss on her cheek "I love you Amy, I know I didn't say it enough back then and couldn't say it enough before but please know that I love you so much so very much so so much Amy. Please forgive me A-Bear."

She pressed another kiss to her cheek and slowly stood straight before she raised the sheet again, taking one last look at her sister before her face was covered, the mermaid necklace shining around her neck.

Dale could remember all of the final goodbye's of his friends he went to in his lifetime and he could easily say this was the saddest.

Helping Andrea throw some clothes in a bag along with a few books they made it downstairs to see Shane, Daryl and T-Dog hacking away at the glass with what looked like a fire axe but the metal didn't even land a scratch on the glass.

"What's going on!" he yelled and several heads turned to him all wearing different expressions ranging from bewildered, to angry to deeply frightened.

"He's going to set the air on fire, it's going to blow up the building with us inside." he stared at Jacqui and his gaze flickered briefly to her hands that were joined with Harry's, the man's knuckles nearly white from how hard he was squeezing her hand.

"He's going to _what?_ Is he crazy? Are you crazy?" Jenner gave him a crooked smile and shrugged.

"You should've left well enough alone, it would've been so much easier"

"Easier for who?!" Jenner didn't even grace Lori with his attention, instead watching as the three men tried and failed to break the glass, a photo album clenched in his hand.

"You all know what's out there. A short and brutal death. Is that what you want?"

Dale wondered if the man had ever been all there since they arrived. Having been holed up in a building by himself for months on end without another soul around except for the dead outside and memories of what had been. He looked at the album that was pressed to his body.

Dr. Edwin Jenner was a sad lonely man who wanted to die Dale concluded.

"It won't make a dent!"

Jenner snorted and looked at the clock "Those doors were made to withstand a rocket launcher"

Dale sent Harry a look when the man made a strangled sound and Dale saw Daryl leave the door and stomp towards Jenner.

"Well your head ain't! Open the fucking doors or I'll remove it!"

Dale didn't know what possessed him to rush towards Daryl and hold him back but apparently Rick and Shane had the same idea while Merle cackled from a few feet away. His gaze drifted to where Andrea was standing alone looking just as lost and confused as a child and if there was a possibility that the doors would open with Jenner's death he'd let Daryl go without a second thought.

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 **D.H**

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"Daryl!"

"Whoa! Whoa man!"

"Daryl put the axe down!" Harry tried to move forward but Jacqui stopped him squeezing his hand tighter. She didn't believe that Daryl would harm him, never Harry, but she needed something to stabilize her in the mess.

Daryl turned furious eyes on his husband and she saw the exact moment he admitted defeat, shrugging out the men's hold to take his anger out on the doors.

"One tiny moment and it's all over, a millisecond-"

"Jenner! Who was it that was being recorded. From all of the other test subjects you could have gotten why TS-19?"

That gained the attention of everyone, even Daryl paused to glare.

She watched as Jenner swallowed, his eyes darkening and his knuckles white around the album.

"TS-19's name was Candace Jenner. My wife and the most brilliant woman to have come into this institute"

There was a collective gasp around the room and Jacqui felt sympathetic towards the man who had lost everything as well, he was just like most of the them.

"You experimented on your wife?" she glanced at Rick who's face was contorted in something that resembled fury.

Jenner looked just as angry at the accusation in Rick's voice.

"She volunteered. The last thing she could do for humanity she had called it. My wife wanted to make a change and she was taken much too early. I should have been the one to get bitten, that TS should have been me so yes I experimented on my wife."

Daryl went back to hitting the doors with what seemed like even more fervor and she supposed he had every right to, his husband and child's life were at stake.

"That's why this way is better. No pain whatsoever. Don't you think it would be more compassionate, more kinder to hold onto your loved ones and wait for the clock to reach zero than risk everything out there?"

She needed something or someone to stabilize her in the moment, to not let her thoughts get the better of her because otherwise she would agree with what Jenner was saying.

She did agree with what he was saying.

Everyone in the group had someone to care about, someone to have care for them, even Andrea had Dale and Shane had Rick as an honorary brother. Glenn was the one person everyone got along with, even Merle.

Even T-Dog was perhaps closer to Glenn than he was with her mentally seeing as how she caught them in a heated discussion about some movie involving space.

What she and T-Dog had couldn't even be described as a relationship even in the situation they were in now. It was more carnal and hardly frequent, just when one of them needed to let off some steam and she was fine with it.

But Harry. She turned and stared at the younger man who was so full of life - literally - that he seemed ready to burst. Who had befriended her on a whim and made her feel needed in the group solely for her words and presence.

"You all need to realize that out there is only bloodshed and pain. I know you don't want have your loved ones taken from you, staying here would ensure that you all leave this world together without the added grief"

Her brown eyes turned to Jenner and she flinched a bit when his gaze met hers.

"No pain, no more worries, eternal and peaceful rest"

Her grip on Harry's hand loosened and Edwin smiled at her.

She didn't have any more family to care for, her mother having died long ago and her brothers along with their families not having made it out of the city alive. So what purpose did she have. She didn't have many talents except for cooking and mapping of cities she had studied to get herself a job in the zoning department. She couldn't hunt or kill without hesitation, nor could she fight.

If her brothers had been alive then maybe she'd have a reason to stay but as it was it might be better if she-

"Jacqui."

She jumped when her name was called and she looked away from Jenner to stare into the greenest eyes she had ever seen on a human being.

"Y-yes?" his hand squeezed hers again and again until she caught the drift and squeezed his back.

"Don't listen to him. You have me don't you? And my baby will need some serious help if Daryl and I are gonna be it's parents, so I need you to help me. I need you to be with me when my baby comes into this world because whatever God there is knows that I'm so damn scared sometimes I feel like crying."

Jacqui stared wide eyed at the man until she had to blink back the tears and Harry laughed a bit wiping at his eyes.

"You'll stay with me won't you?"

She stared at him, then back to Jenner before she squeezed his hand even tighter.

"I will sweetie. I'll stay with you for as long as you'll have me"

Harry laughed and a small giggle bubbled out of her mouth "I guess we're hitched then"

Jacqui pulled the man closer to and ignored the glare they were receiving from Lori. "We'll have our honeymoon in the RV."

She couldn't help the pleased smile when Harry burst into more happy giggles, one hand around her and the next under his belly. She'd stay for him if not herself.

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 **D.H**

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The doors that Daryl had been beating with the axe suddenly flew open and there was a pause in the activity inside before everyone moved in a flurry of moment, grabbing bags and respective children alike before moving towards the open doors.

"Harry! Merle grab some of the bags!"

Jacqui hurried him along, helping him up the stairs but he couldn't take his eyes off of Edwin Jenner.

The man was strange and Harry supposed before everything went down the drain he was someone different, maybe loving and less creepy and perhaps isolation did that to a sane man who only had ghosts and the memory of a dead wife to talk to.

"You're making a mistake Dr. Black" it sounded more of a plea than conviction and Harry smiled.

"Maybe, maybe not but I'll just have to see." Jenner scrunched his face up as if he didn't know what emotion to place over his features and Harry followed Jacqui's insistent calling of his name and to 'move his butt'

"Thank you Dr. Jenner, for housing us"

Jenner visibly swallowed and his brown eyes darted to Harry's stomach, his hand holding the album tighter to his chest. "You're welcome."

Rick was the last to leave the room and he saw the two men talking before they made it to the entrance where Daryl, T-Dog and Shane were once again beating on the glass.

He could have told them since the first time they had picked up the axes that nothing short of an explosion would work on the glass that was made to withstand anything but idle hands and all.

"What are we going to do?"

"Can't we hide behind something that the blast can't reach us?"

"H.I.T.s will destroy the building and all the floors below including a few feet outside and the aftershock could probably turn over a few cars. Unless we can get outside and to the RV's hopefully driving away then we're as good as dead"

Glenn paled considerably and Harry shrugged apologetically at the younger man.

"Why are you so calm huh? You could've told us what we were getting into before we even stepped foot inside of here!"

Harry didn't even bother to hide his annoyance at Lori when he glared.

"And how the hell was I supposed to know Jenner was off his rocker huh? Am I supposed to read minds and tell you who's a crazy from a sane? Should I include a bitch radar in the package as well?"

Lori's face turned red and Harry didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for calling Rick's wife a bitch because he had been standing for over thirty minutes and his back and feet were seriously killing him.

"I'm afraid to ask but what is H.I.T.s?"

Harry looked away from Lori long enough to look back at Glenn.

"High-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives. It's basically a low level nuclear that lights the air on fire between five and six thousand degrees. Effective for destroying and maximum damage as a last resort."

His small explanation on seemed to motivate the others to hack away at the glass faster, Shane even taking the shotgun and shooting at it without much result.

Jenner wasn't lying when he said that anything short of a rocket launcher could penetrate the glass. It was made to sustain and protect the shit they kept inside from getting out after all.

Carol stepped forward, reaching into her bag for something.

"Rick I think this may help"

Harry had to give her props for ignoring Shane and all his sarcasm about a nail file especially when she pulled out a grenade.

"I found it in your pocket the first morning after you came back to camp"

Harry remembered that. They had found it outside of a tank that was parked in the middle of street shortly before they had to run for their lives from the horde.

Harry was already pulling Jacqui and a stunned Glenn by the back of his shirt further into the lobby, Merle who was smoking a cigarette followed after them with several bags in hand, some with what he assumed to be food and others clothes; looking for all the world unbothered by what was happening. Carol and Lori tugging their children further away from the glass.

"Everybody get down!"

"Get back!"

Rick pulled the pin and placed the grenade on the window sill before he sprinted over to where his wife and child stood hunched over. Daryl crowded Harry closer to the wall and a few seconds later the ground vibrated a bit and a bit of glass rained down on them.

He had never hated running more than he did now with a small human living inside of his belly, with swollen feet then with a husband on one side and a Jacqui on the next - because she was original like that; while said husband butchered down walkers with Rick and Shane.

Climbing into the backseat with Jacqui inside Daryl's jeep with Merle and Daryl throwing the bags in the small back he followed the oldest safety rule in the book and strapped his seat belt on, looking back at the CDC as Daryl drove away before it went up in a ball of flames and debris.

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 **D.H**

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 **A/n:** Whew this has to be the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope you enjoyed it! And yay I passed my exam!

As for Dr. Jenner I honestly believe a man that was grieving the loss of his wife while being stuck inside a building for months on end with nothing but memories and the dead for company would start to crack bit by bit even if he himself didn't realize it. Harry was something familiar in terms of him being a doctor, someone who could have had the potential to understand him so he sorta tried to cling to lil Harry. I never had anything against Jenner but the man's only reason for living was so he could try to continue his wife's legacy and then that was destroyed and basically yea.

That being said - Guest - who I shall refer to as a **burnt cookie** because being a burnt brownie is too good for you. The point was to make Jenner OOC to suit my story. So sorry if I'm not making him an exact replica of the one you seem to like. Kindly refer to my profile image. You're entitled to your opinion but dude come on.

Thanks to all you who reviewed! I re-read them because you guys are amazing!

I'm looking for a beta so if any of you know of one who's free to help and patient but firm then drop me a pm~

Anyway! See you next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n:** I've been having severe writer's block along with some health issues so while I am very sorry I couldn't update I also couldn't help it. Not a very long chapter but I hope you enjoy. Sorry for any mistakes found.

 **Warnings:** Nothing that I can think of.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **It's like being baptized, man"**

 **-T-Dog**

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Chapter Nine

People were calling his name, shouting it, screaming it. Blurry faces and hands were on him, and funny enough one of them reminded him of Daryl. Why his husband was floating in the air he didn't know but this bed was hard and the ceiling light was way too hot, somebody should really turn it off…

Someone slapped him on the face and he groaned, turning away from the offending hand because who would slap a pregnant man, didn't they know he carried precious cargo and would aim for their crotch with his feet?

"Harry!"

He groaned again and blinked up at the blurred faces of people he assumed he should know. One of them darker than the rest but sounded no less worried than the rest - Jacqui?

"Jacqui?"

"Suga' you-"

And why on earth did his voice sound like he chained smoked for thirty-five years straight?

"Hey! Harry can you hear me?"

He wanted to to shout that yes he could bloody well hear all of them because they were shouting. Why they were shouting was completely beyond his comprehension but they should all really stop it.

His head hurt and now that he thought about it so did his back, legs, chest and every other anatomical part of his exterior including his ass. Why they were hurting he didn't know and why were there so many unanswered questions.

Why, why, why.

Why was a funny word, pitched incorrectly and it'd be very hilarious.

"Wha' happened?"

He rubbed his eyes and holy shit even his eyes hurt. Did he get run over by a steamroller? Was a zombie driving it? Could the dead even operate heavy machinery? He didn't think so since their synapses for anything other than movement and hunger were all turned off and dead.

Kinda like Rick's marriage. Heh, that was good one. Bad Harry.

He wanted to think of a really good reference to say but his attention was focused on trying to figure out who the hell was hovering over him still. Daryl, Jacqui… was that Rick?

"You fainted Harry do you-"

"I 'ainted?"

He could feel his face doing something complicated, maybe he was frowning?

"Yea you fainted. Does anything hurt? We need to move you out of this sun and find some water."

"'Verything 'urts."

Even his tongue felt heavy, like lead that was sinking in water. Did that mean he was trying to fish? He'd never been very good at that unlike Daryl and Merle who could catch fish just by thinking about it.

O.G Aquamen.

He was being lifted and the familiar smell of Daryl invaded his nostrils and he hummed, it wasn't a very fresh smell but it was Daryl so he let his heavy head rest on the sweaty chest. From there he could hear the rabbit quick thundering of Daryl's heart beat that sounded like a drum.

He must have dozed off a bit because next he knew he was being placed on the soft mattress of one of the beds in the RV.

"Harry, look at me."

He blinked, more than a bit sleepy now but still managed to turn towards his husband as requested. Daryl's hand rubbed at is cheek and he squinted, seeing just how worried the normal unflappable man was.

"We'll find water soon 'kay? Just get some rest alright?"

His face did something a bit less complicated and he realized he was smiling. He wanted to tell him that if he didn't stop frowning so much he'd get huge worry lines on his forehead but the words were drifting away with his consciousness.

Staring at the fading figure, the image of Daryl disappearing he sunk into the pillows.

When he opened his eyes next it was to a blurry ceiling and the blinding sunlight hitting him directly in the eye.

The question of why he was bed came to mind when the last thing he remembered was searching the abandoned cars with some of the others while the rest cleared the highway enough for them to pass through with their own vehicles.

Pressing the heel of his hand to forehead he blinked, squeezing his eyes shut to get rid of the cobwebs that was hindering his vision. Daryl like a blue eyed angel minus the trench coat and with only a tad more personality came waltzing in and Harry immediately felt guilty for making the man look so worried.

"Harry…" he leaned into the hand that pressed against his cheek, then his forehead and then under his neck, with a pout he realized the man was checking for a fever.

Grabbing a hold of Daryl's hand Harry tugged him down, the normally unflappable man letting out a grunt, eyes widening from their normal squint when Harry kissed. His reaction would think that Harry was a horrible spouse and never kissed the man, jeez.

"I'm okay Dar, I'm just a bit tired and achy." he didn't have to add, hungry or thirsty to the list since everyone in the camp was feeling the same.

Daryl's face did something weird and Harry just reached up and smoothed out the lines on his forehead "Stop worrying so much will you, something good will turn up. Now, mind telling me why I'm in a bed?"

Daryl looked at him as if he was asking the stupidest question on earth, brushing Harry's hair from his forehead and actually rubbed his cheek this time instead of being a sneaky mcnugget by checking for a temperature. God he never knew how much he'd miss the Big Mac until now.

"You passed out." Daryl murmured and Harry shivered a bit when his shirt was pushed up the man's large hand sprawled over his belly, their kid relishing in the attention and kicking. "I think that means he's okay."

Daryl snorted, pressing a kiss where their baby was currently bruising Harry's insides but he couldn't muster the energy to be upset instead following in his baby's footsteps and delighted in the attention. Daryl eased Harry up when he made grabby hands, rolling his eyes at the childishness of his husband.

"You're such a dork."

The sound of Harry laughing may have been the highlight of his day so far after hearing Jacqui shout for help then finding him on the ground unconscious. Pressing a kiss on the man's wavy mess of a head he hugged him, ignoring Harry's questioning call of his name and instead breathed in Harry's scent.

Daryl didn't know what he would do if he ever lost Harry, probably go crazy and desert the group, Merle would no doubt follow him and - that wasn't a thought he wanted to entertain at all. The possibility of losing the one person he loved unconditionally was even more so terrifying than losing his own life. Harry by some miracle had made him whole again.

Between the years of abuse from his father, neglect from his mother, and an almost never there brother, Harry had somehow mended all that of hatred and apathy. If he lost Harry then what would be the point of living?

"Oi I can see the depressing shit you're thinking swirling in that dark chasm that's your mind, cut it out. I'm okay see? We both are, so it's okay. I'll try to take it easy from now on, I just got a little light headed I think."

He watched as Daryl's face scrunched into a deep frown and he winced when the man grunted.

"Something'll turn up soon. We're on a highway, people are gonna leave stuff and it'll be ours for the taking so just stop frowning will you. Our kid is gonna call you grandpa before it calls you daddy."

Daryl rolled his eyes and Harry took that as incentive to give him a dirty grin "Even if it doesn't I still will"

Daryl ducked his head partially to hide his embarrassment and to chuckle while Harry grinned happy that he could at least pull a small laugh from him when he looked as if the world was about to crumble.

He stared into the beautiful blues that were Daryl's eyes as he the man leaned forward, a soft kiss being placed on his lips then forehead.

"You better not get up from this bed, you need anything you holler 'kay?"

Harry murmured an affirmative because frankly even if he wanted to he couldn't have disobeyed Daryl, movement was pretty limited to his toes and fingers.

Hearing the door slam shut he let his face show just how uncomfortable he was and he rubbed his belly just left below his navel where a pain was radiating in pulses that came and went every few minutes but always left behind a dull throbbing then there were the cramps that flashed pain along his stomach.

He wasn't exactly worried since the pain was tolerable, not intense enough that he needed to Daryl about but just a bit so that he wanted them to stop. They weren't Braxton Hicks he was sure but maybe just his uterus expanding a bit more since his kid seemed to grow heavier every day and Harry dreaded to think about when he had to deliver him.

"You're gonna mess daddy up hm?" he asked his gestating spawn who didn't so much as twitch and Harry guessed he should be happy he was asleep and not kicking around his insides.

He also wouldn't lie and say he wasn't hungry, and maybe the cramping came from the lack of sustenance filling his stomach - hell even the peppermint had run out and he hadn't had the steaming tea in days so maybe he also had gas bubbling up inside him. Not to mention he was aching everywhere even if he had done minimal moving even before he passed out and fuck did his mouth taste like sand paper.

He wasn't going to complain aloud since he knew that everyone was feeling the effects of so little food and water but it wouldn't hurt to complain to himself.

Harry rubbed the tightly stretched mound that only a few months ago had been a flat stomach and though the feeling of being 'fat' was one he never thought he would experience he couldn't say he hated it. Sure the conditions in which he was currently sporting the love child of a night and half a day of sex weren't the best, but that night of rough, pounding, skin slapping, desperate sex that had dissolved into deep, inside tugging, orgasm drawing sex - Harry didn't bother to smother the grin - was glorious and maybe Merle really was to thank for the conception of his niece or nephew because the morning after Daryl had to go and bail him out.

Back then he could have seen his penis, had even orgasmed on his own face because of some positions Daryl had placed him in but now he hadn't seen his dick in months and if he didn't have to pee so much he would think it had abandoned him.

The conditions definitely weren't the best or even the third option of where he wanted to be pregnant but at least now he was with his husband again and not wondering day in and out and if the man was dead or wandering the streets like the reanimated corpses.

Grunting Harry rubbed the area below his navel again and when his eyes began to grow heavy he didn't resist the urge to sleep.

He was startled from his sleep when the RV door slammed with enough force it shook a few things in the tiny kitchenette and he rubbed blurry eyes as he tried to make out the figure that was standing a few feet away.

Blinking he squinted at Andrea and he must have called out her name unconsciously because her head whipped in his direction, eyes puffy red with her nose in an equal state, hair limp and so messy it couldn't be called fashionable.

"Andrea.." he called out to her again but the woman shook her head and stomped off to the bathroom, the door closing.

Sighing he dragged his hand down his face, outside he could hear T-Dog shouting something that sounded generally happy and the others echoing back. Maybe they found a rocketship to take them to another planet who knew, then his baby could be the new dark lord of space.

He didn't blame Andrea for still crying since it hadn't been that long since Amy had died and if one of his precious people perished he wouldn't take it nearly half as well as she was. Just the thought of Daryl, Merle, Rick or Jacqui dying made him shudder and while he wanted to try to at least comfort the woman he also knew that she needed space.

Looking up at the ceiling when he heard a movement he only then remembered that Dale up was there taking watch with Glenn who he still called Garth occasionally just to piss the younger man off, because no matter how he argued he would never be a _Dean_.

Bringing the blankets up to his neck when he shivered even though outside was fairly hot he pressed the back of his hand to his neck just to make sure he wasn't coming down with something Harry closed his eyes as he tried to to turn a deaf ear to the sobs coming from the bathroom.

He must have dozed off again because when he opened his eyes next the bathroom door was opened a bit a a box of tissues that had been sitting on the small table were missing. Burying his face in the pillow that smelled like Daryl he yawned when the RV shook a bit, a classic sign that someone was boarding it. He was about to call out to the person as long as they weren't Lori when any sound and breath died in his throat.

A walker, male and not as broken down as many he had seen wandering the road, in fact it looked well fed and not decomposed in the slightest. He watched it, barely breathing and certainly not moving as it stumbled into the living space, clothes brown from blood and dirt and it's mouth having a reddish tint to it where the lips weren't completely missing to expose it's teeth.

He couldn't yell for Daryl because that would only draw the thing to him much faster and the knife that was usually under the pillow was gone, the closest weapon in the kitchen which was currently behind the walking corpse.

Adrenaline only did so much and Harry wasn't very confident in his chances of pushing off the thing if it sniffed him out, hell he still wasn't completely sure they relied on scent, hearing or sight to find their meals but he wasn't about to test any theory at the moment.

The curtains to the bed area were partially drawn to hide his lower half but his head was still peaking out of the blanket and his hand that was resting on his belly curled around it tighter. Babies could survive eight minutes in the womb after the mother died and though he wasn't due yet then in case push came to him being bitten then his baby would have to be taken out before the virus spread to his bloodstream and infected him on the cellular level and reached his baby.

It was close enough that he could smell it, rotten and stale meat on both its person and mouth and if it came a few feet more it would definitely see him. Breathing minutely Harry stared at the thing that would rip him apart without hesitation.

It stopped, head turning both ways before it stared straight ahead, not at him but just in his general direction before it turned around, movement clumsy and coltish now that it was docile and he watched as it made it's way towards where it had come in.

"Dale is that you?"

Harry placed his hand over his mouth to stifle his shout and suddenly heavy breaths when Andrea's voice came from the bathroom and the walker paused, three steps away from leaving the RV.

"Dale? I need more toilet paper"

Harry watched as the thing made noise for the first time since stepping inside as it turned around, her voice attracting it's attention and the once slow steps turned purposeful.

"Dale is that you? I'm sorry for brushing you off earlier but the bathroom needs more TP"

Harry wanted to shout and tell Andrea to lock the door, that there was a walker outside but his voice froze in his throat when there was movement in his belly, his baby having woken up and gently nudging him with a limb.

He couldn't risk his baby's life to save hers.

The door to the bathroom was pulled inwards and Andrea's fingers curled around the frame, her messy blond head peaking out "Dale I thought I told you-"

Harry watched as if in a trance as she screamed when the walker snarled at her, arms outstretched and mouth falling open to display the already visible black teeth. He watched as the door was pushed shut again the same time the deceased man slammed against it, his snarls aggressive now that he found his prey and Harry remained frozen.

The bathroom door wasn't a solid frame but one that folded in without a proper lock to it since a RV was already a space that held little privacy and the walker was using that to advantage, pushing all of his weight against the frame to get to Andrea.

There was never one walker nearby, and now that they were on the highway there was sure to be more than just a few, a point that made him even more fearful of moving and of Andrea's screams of fear that would more that likely attract the things companions.

He was lucky with that one, he didn't think he'd be lucky enough to go undetected if more arrived after hearing her screams. Swallowing the saliva that had pooled into his mouth that felt as dry as dirt Harry slowly climbed to his feet, careful because of his belly and the fact that he didn't want to draw it's attention away from Andrea and onto himself.

Dale was still on top of the roof, the small window of the bathroom leading to the outside so maybe he would help her - maybe he didn't have to try and save her.

"God no..no!"

Looking around he wanted to curse when he saw nothing pointed nearby that he could use to stab the walker with until he saw the faded red paint of the fire extinguisher jammed into a corner between the bed and window quarter table. Tugging on it until he got it from it hanging place he stepped closer and a small voice in his head shouted at him to leave her, to escape and keep his baby safe.

The voice sounded like Daryl more than he liked to admit.

The smell of the rotten man made him gag a bit and to vomit now would certainly guarantee his death so he swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up as he raised the red metal cylinder and with as much strength as he could muster; adrenaline pulsing through his body he smashed the extinguisher against the dirty head of the walker.

The reanimated man fell against the door and slumped to the ground as if in a daze, yellow and black eyes turned towards Harry and it's arms reached up as it snarled again, bearings caught as it moved to get up. Hitting it again he stumbled backwards when Andrea screamed and came from the bathroom, the silver steel of something in her hand glinting briefly in the sunlight before it was buried in the walkers face.

Harry watched as she stabbed the thing in the face again and again, three times in the socket and then a final fourth one that made it go limp, snarls and limbs ceasing when the pointed tip reached the brain.

Harry dropped the extinguisher and stepped over the dead body, moving slowly and peaking outside to see a few walkers. Reaching the door was tricky but he managed it without going outside and the moment he closed the door something slammed against it, snarls coming from the other side.

Locking the door he walked back over to the blood splattered Andrea, her hands and clothes a mess with her face carrying some of the fluids.

"Andrea come on, we need to clean you up, come" she went with him willingly, screwdriver remaining buried inside of its skull as she climbed off its lap.

Seating her on the bed he went back to the sink, wetting a kitchen towel to help remove the blood. Turning back to her he watch as she took off her top and if he was straight then maybe it would have been awkward but seeing as how he took dick up the ass and currently had a life literally growing in him he wasn't in the least bothered by the show of her womanly curves and nice breasts.

"Andrea are you okay?" her blue eyes flicked up to meet his green, not moving as he cleaned her face of the blood.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" he asked again, dropping the cloth to rest his slightly shaking hand to rub her cheek and that seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

In one breath and the next he had a sobbing Andrea against his chest, his stomach making it a bit hard to hold her properly as she clung to him for what seemed like dear life, her breaths ragged and weeping as wet as her tears.

Hugging her closer Harry rubbed her back as she spoke to him, most of the words inaudible and muffled but he heard Amy's name being spoken several times and Harry couldn't say anything of comfort to the woman who had been falling apart since that night back in the quarry.

He couldn't tell her it would be okay because he didn't know if it would be. He couldn't tell her he understood because he didn't, and he certainly couldn't reassure her that Amy was in a better place because he wasn't raised with any notions of a 'heaven' so all he did was hold her until her cries quieted down and she pulled away, blue eyes dim as she laid down on the bed and fell asleep.

He kneeled there for a few minutes after Andrea had fallen unconscious and he regretted every minute of it when it came time for him to stand up, the weight of his belly, lack of food and close dehydration making the simple task difficult.

Grimacing Harry balanced himself before sitting down on the couch that acted as a fold out bed, five feet away from the dead walker and four feet away from the door. No one came to the door knocking it yet, nor did he hear any gunfire or shouting so the only explanation was that they had either abandoned both him and Andrea or they were hiding since everyone being dead was unlikely.

Harry groaned, not from pain but from a dizzy spell that assaulted him with enough force to make him glad he was already sitting, the world spinning and his baby moving about in obvious displeasure.

"I know I know, daddy'll feed you soon" he murmured, one hand cradling his very pregnant belly while the next rubbed over it until his baby calmed down to just minimal movement every few minutes.

It sucked balls not having time so whenever he had to guess how long something was it only served to agitate him but when the first few knocks on the door when unanswered by him simply because he couldn't move just yet they became frantic.

"Harry! Andrea!"

"Can you hear them?!"

"Harry! Harry baby are you okay? Answer me!"

"She was just there! I-I gave her a screwdriver oh god no…"

Harry groaned and slid from the couch when the world seemed to tilt a little less, hand reaching out to unlock the door and the moment the lock was switched the door flew open and he stared at Shane who had his finger on the safety switch.

Not even bothering to say anything he stumbled back to the couch and let the flood of people come in, Merle coming to his side and grabbing his face while Jacqui fussed over him. He could see Shane standing by the door, arms crossed and facial expression not quite agitated but he wouldn't call it concern either while Dale rushed over to where Andrea was lying.

"Jail-bait? hey hey! Look at me boy" Merle tapped Harry's face and Harry glared at the man, swatting away the offending limb that only came back.

Jacqui's hands were travelling along his body, over his belly, back, legs and arms and he wondered if the woman was finally making her move on him or -

"He's not bitten, thank god for small miracles"

Sending a pout in her direction Harry allowed himself to be babied, Merle pulling him up and supporting most of his weight as Jacqui and Shane undid the pullout bed before he was placed back on it.

Shane was still strangely lingering nearby, though never coming closer and Merle disappeared after that.

His brother-in-law was always strange like that. One minute he would be spewing insults and half hearted declarations of hate that had to be converted into love then the next he would be this oddly supporting person that he had seen actually be gentle with Daryl when the man was younger and sick.

Shane wasn't any better either, nothing rude leaving his mouth, just silent as he observed. Maybe that small conversation back at the CDC did more good than harm.

Jacqui caressed his cheek, worry clear in her features as she stared down at him where he was laying. The pillow smelled like Rick.

"We found water suga' a whole tank full!"

Drinking clean and untouched water sounded glorious at the moment but the fact no mention of food came didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Mhmm… I'm okay 'Qui, just a 'lil tired is all"

His words did nothing to elevate her worry, if anything the frown marks increased.

Merle came back, a bottle of water in hand and his mouth wet as well. Handing the bottle to Jacqui he helped Harry to sit up and now that the adrenaline had took its course and left his system he felt all sorts of shitty, the pain from earlier coming back making him grimace.

He didn't even protest to Jacqui holding the bottle for him since his arms felt like soggy noodles. The water was cool and tasted like what he supposed heaven would have been, the cool liquid making him feel nice on the inside, not as good as food but just so.

"Where's Daryl?" he asked the three people and when all three showed no signs of positivity panic clawed at his insides but he stomped it down.

Merle was still there after all and if something had happened to his brother then there would be hell to pay, but seeing as how the man was calm and not throwing disparaging comments he could conclude it wasn't anything horrible but certainly nothing good.

It also wasn't totally out of the question that his husband had lingered outside to keep watch or was helping store up on water but since this was Daryl he was talking about his husband would have been first through the door to make sure he was okay.

"Merle where's Daryl"

The oldest Dixon scowled at Harry, arms folded across his chest.

"Chasing after the little girl in the woods who got spooked from one of those dead shits"

Harry blinked four times and turned to Shane "What?"

The former deputy sighed, dragging his fingertips through his curly black hair, foot coming up to prop behind him against the RV's wall surface.

"A horde came while we were drinking water, Dale discovered them too late and we all couldn't run back to the trucks so we hid under the cars. Sophia moved too quickly and one noticed her, she ran over into the gully and Rick along with Daryl went after her"

Children were basically foals, easy to catch and just as frightened.

"How's Carol holding up?"

The look on Shane's face spoke wonders and he knew the woman was falling apart. He may not have spent much time with her back at the quarry or while on the road but he knew that during her abusive years married to the deceased Ed, the only thing that kept her going was Sophia.

The little girl was her light and he would hate for the child that giggled at his jokes and stories to be another victim like Amy.

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 **DH**

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 **A/n:** A few people have been asking for a threesome between either Daryl/Rick/Harry or Harry/Shane/Rick, some have even asked for it to change to Rick/Harry, sorry sorry but that's not gonna happen.

I would like to know however what gender you all think the baby will be.

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n:** Surprise surprise! Thank-you for all the lovely reviews! Please forgive any mistakes found and enjoy.

 **Warnings:** Might be some inaccurate medical stuff, mentions of abuse & rape, mentions of child neglect, some Lori, some Shane and some other stuff.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **Ed never let me wear nice things like this"**

 **\- Carol**

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Daryl cursed, his fist clenching and since it wouldn't do to go back to camp with a broken hand and worry Harry anymore than the man probably already was he just dug his nails into his palm until the prickles of pain distracted him enough from his frustration.

Rick was in the opposite direction, combing the area after Daryl had caught up to him, after they discovered they Sophia had left the spot Rick had hidden her in.

Daryl wanted to call her stupid to find her and yell at her for being so childish and impatient but he also knew that she was afraid and had only wanted to find her mother. At least that's what any kid would want to do when placed in a dangerous position.

He hadn't ever been a normal child, his mother was always too high on crack or drunk, sometimes both to even know who he was and when she wasn't his father beat the shit out of her until she was apologising for shit she hadn't even done.

As a child he had wanted to believe that it was his father's fault for how she turned out but as an adult he came to the conclusion that even without his old man beating on her every other day like someone would beat a dusty mat she wouldn't have given a shit about him regardless.

So in a way both her and his father deserved each other. One died from a alcohol poisoning and the next in a house full of flames caused by a cigarette.

Carol wasn't like his mother because Carol despite suffering the same abuse and neglect was actually a loving person who cared so much about her kid seeing them interact sometimes made his chest ache.

Carol always made sure that Sophia ate before she did, tucked her in at night, gave her enough of everything even when she didn't have much and hell - if his mother had done just an eighth of that then maybe he wouldn't have grown to be such a shitty person.

Pushing through bush he hollered again, his throat was beginning to ache and he would need to get out of the river soon or he'd risk something more than a sore throat.

"Sophia!"

He didn't have to come out and search for the kid since she wasn't his but he placed himself in Carol's shoes, of his child, the one in Harry's belly at some point in time had to go missing he would want every able to look for them.

"Sophia! Where are you!"

He hadn't spoken to Carol much but the woman had given him advice on how to take care of Harry, stuff she learned during her pregnancy with Sophia, stuff that she had wished Ed would have done for her but never did like rub her back, massaging her several times a day, elevating her feet and other small stuff.

Harry for all his smart ass remarks and sass was never one to complain even when he was in pain which was a fact that pissed Daryl off to no end and Harry knew it.

Sophia was a sweet kid, quiet and shy on most days unlike Carl's loud and almost cocky attitude but the boy was good for her, the childish side of her coming through whenever he spotted them playing and fuck if he didn't want to preserve that. He didn't have that as a kid, Merle was always chasing some girl, fucking some girl or getting into fights over someone elses girl to spend much time with him, and when he did spend time with him it was always to bully him.

No one wanted to play with the little brother of Merle Dixon.

"Sophia! Sophia!"

The sky was darkening and he hadn't thought to bring along a flashlight nor had Rick, the only thing they both had were gun and bow respectfully.

"Sophia! Can you hear me?!"

No matter how worse off people might have been when he was a kid no parent wanted their child to play with the son of the local druggie and whore.

No father would allow their daughter to play with the kid whose father knocked his mother around and sold her to other men for a couple of dollars and a bit of coke.

"Sophia!"

The world was gone to shit but people like Carol and Sophia deserved better than this shit.

"Daryl! We have to go back!" he couldn't see Rick but the man was close by.

"Sophia!"

The sun was setting now, the woods darkening bit by bit and the chill of night creeping in. He couldn't leave the kid out there by herself, not like this.

"Sophia!"

Rick grabbed his arm and he yanked it away. "Daryl we have to go. I know you don't want to leave - I don't want to leave her either but we can't risk it."

Daryl scanned the area he could still see, looking for any movement in the woods but soon enough that area was covered with the shadows as well.

"Come on Daryl."

Rick laid his hand on his sweaty arm again and he allowed himself to steered back in the direction that was the small slope they had ran down to follow after Sophia.

"Fuck!"

Stomping back to where the vehicles were parked he stormed right past the inquiring gazes of the rest of the group and over to the water tanker to wash off the grime and woods from him before he went to see Harry, the cold water also helped to calm him somewhat.

He shouldn't be taking this so personal but he was and they still had yet to find any food. The woods had been silent save for a few bird cawing overhead but no squirrels or fish were in the water for him to try and catch.

This was a bigger shitfest than he had anticipated it was. Before it was bad but this… this wasn't good. He didn't really care about himself that much, sure his self-worth had risen since meeting Harry as well as his self-esteem that had been trampled during his early childhood but he still didn't necessarily _care_ much still.

The notion of 'no food' wasn't foreign to him, nor Merle and definitely not for Harry but now there was another life to factor in, one that depended on Harry eating so that it could survive, and now that concept of 'no food' was like a glaring red alarm that wouldn't shut up in his head.

Merle knew it too, his brother having pulled him aside earlier that day during dawn to tell him that the surrounding areas were bare of any wild life - either migrated or dead, so they had to rely on whatever they could find in the abandoned cars which wasn't much to begin with.

His older brother despite for all his bravado and classic 'neanderthal behavior' as Harry often said, cared about his brother-in-law even if he was hardpressed to deny it to the end and Daryl appreciated that a lot, that in the event something happened to him then Merle would step up for his kid where he fell a bit short with Daryl.

Letting the water soak him to the bone until he was shivering Daryl turned the tank off, stripping of his shirt and wringing it out. Walking past Rick and the small group, Carol crying in Lori's arms he pulled open the door to the RV and closed it behind him.

Looking around he stared at the dried blood that was on a spot in the once cream carpet and his ears rang - why didn't anyone tell him something happened what if -

"Harry!?"

"Shhh, not so loud Daryl, he's here."

He followed Jacqui's voice to the small area where the man bed was, the dark skinned woman whom his husband had practically adopted as an older sister and mother figure, was gently massaging his stomach and back while Harry's face was pressed into the pillow and from where he stood dripping water on the floor he could hear the small whimpers of pain.

"Harry?"

His husband didn't even look up, just waved a hand in the direction he thought Daryl was in "'M fine 'omise."

Jacqui tsked "He's been having abdominal pain, said it's been happening for maybe half a day now. I've never had any babies of my own but Harry said this normally happens when the uterus is expanding or maybe even Braxton Hicks."

Everything that left Jacqui's mouth sounded foreign and frightening. Uterus expanding? Braxton Hicks? Was that a medical complication or something?

"Explain to 'im 'fore he implodes 'Qui." Harry murmured from where his face was hidden.

Jacqui looked at Daryl for the first time since he entered the space and immediately she frowned looking at his wet shirt in hand and the rest of his general soaked appearance. Silently pointing to the overhead compartment where the towels were he grabbed one and searched through a duffle bag, taking out fresh clothes.

Changing right in front of her she rolled her eyes and looked away as if Daryl cared. Modesty was for the civil afterall.

Drying his hair she looked at him again with less judgement now that he was dry "I don't think it's Braxton Hicks which is pseudo contractions that normally last a few seconds, he'll get those later he said, but maybe definitely hormonal changes that's causing the pain. Maybe even stress. Whatever it is, you can see the effect."

Daryl heard the 'you should have been here' loud and clear and he couldn't agree more when Harry shifted a bit and groaned, the sound he made reminiscent of when a younger Harry had broken two fingers during a fall.

"Your hubby is here now suga, I'm going to be right outside if you need me okay?" Jacqui pressed a kiss to Harry's head and the younger man squeezed her hand as she climbed off the bed.

"Thank you Jac'"

"Anytime Rose"

Harry giggled a bit and Jacqui brushed his hair, tucking it behind his ear before leaving them alone. Daryl remained standing until Harry looked up, green eyes a bit wet and his nose red; he'd definitely been crying and Daryl clenched his fists.

He'd been looking for someone else's kid when his world was in pain and he didn't even know it. What kind of man was he to leave his husband in pain like that for hours?

' _You my blood boy. Dirty, nasty and never gonna be good enof' for nobody'_

His father's voice rang in his head, gravely and as rough as it had been during his years alive and Daryl was afraid that if he breathed in too deeply he'd smell the moonshine and tobacco.

"Don't do that"

His blue eyes looked down at Harry who motioned for him to climb in under the covers with him. Hesitating for a few seconds he moved forward, climbing over Harry to go on the left side so he left the right opened for when Harry would inevitably get up to take a piss.

He wanted to be angry at him, to be pissed off at the fact that Harry was keeping secrets from him that might come back and bite him in the ass but he couldn't summon the energy to, not when he hadn't been there to see said secrets and signs like he normally could.

Wrapping a hand around Harry's waist he pressed his face into the slightly tanned neck with one hand rubbing the spot Jacqui had been earlier, breathing in his scent until he felt a bit light headed he pressed a kiss to Harry's neck.

"I'm sorry" because as upset as he was that Harry hadn't told him he was experiencing discomfort he was also even more pissed off at himself for running off and leaving him.

Harry hummed "I dunno why you're apologising Daryl Dixon but I'd appreciate it if you don't compare yourself to your father"

Because of course he knew.

Harry squeezed his hand and Daryl looked down at it before bringing the smaller appendage closer and pressing a kiss to it as well, making Harry snort. "You're such a sap when we're alone, I bet no one would be afraid of you if they knew you did stuff like this all the time"

Daryl grunted. He could care less what people thought about him - even Merle's opinion didn't really matter most of the time. All that mattered was Harry and maybe he was monopolizing him but he earned the right to since no one knew either of them better than they did. After helping Harry turn over to his other side when he complained about going numb he took his time in observing Harry's face now that he was close up; his eyes were redder than he had thought and there were defined tear tracks on his cheeks.

"If you feel any more pain, I don't care where you tell me, it's not up for debate" and if he was a lesser man he would have been irked when Harry simply gave him a smile.

Closing his eyes Daryl laid down on his arm, his pillow he took and placed under Harry to give him a bit of support, his other hand on Harry's belly who was petting his hair, where he could feel what he assumed was a fist gently nudge his palm. The repetitive movement didn't seem to bring Harry any pain and soon enough he couldn't stop the smile that fought its way onto his face. This little life that he created with Harry, that he had yet to meet was already so strong and Harry continuously said that was because Daryl was it's parent but he disagreed.

Harry was so much stronger than he was, than he would ever be. Bright, brilliant Harry who had the world of options but chose socially retarded, stupid redneck him.

Their baby was going to be equally smart and stupid it seemed.

"We can't find Sophia" he blurted out and Harry continued to run his fingers through his short hair.

"Rick and I searched everywhere but we can't find her. She's out there alone with those fucks on all sides. How can she sur- she's not us, she's not gonna be alright even if we find her"

Sophia for all her shyness and quick wit wasn't equipped to handle shit like this. Despite having an abusive fuck for a father her mother sheltered her from the worst of it, from the worst of life and now she was out there alone with more to worry about that a man putting his hands on her.

"You're gonna try again tomorrow"

It wasn't a question but he murmured a short reply and Harry smiled. "She's lucky then. She's got one of the most stubborn and one of the most patient men I've ever met looking for her."

Daryl already knew which one of those men he was referenced as so he only gave Harry a bemused look.

"But Daryl" he raised an eyebrow at the sudden shift in tone. "I know we're all going to hope for the best but… if this turns out to be like Amy you have to remember what you told me yea?"

He nodded and pulled Harry as close as he could with their kid between them. He knew he couldn't save everyone but that was because he didn't want to. But this kid - Sophia, he wanted to save her like he wished someone had saved him before he met Harry.

"I know"

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 **DH**

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He contemplated leaving, of just packing up what little shit he owned, throwing it in his truck and riding off before anyone could stop him and the temptation was growing by the minute. Maybe the cause of him wanting to leave was the same but it was for an entirely different reason he was considering driving in the opposite direction and forgetting everything that happened so far.

He had been comfortable if not a little bit wary in his relationship with Lori, had even enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms and of secretly calling Carl 'son'. Hadn't even cared much when Rick appeared again because Lori still came back to him, but since that night back in the CDC when Harry had witnessed what had happened with Lori and had talked to him as if Shane hadn't been threatening him and insulting him since he stepped foot into the quarry camp.

Shane had replayed that conversation over and over and over in his head like an old broken record, the meaning and logic of it all only becoming more and more apparent every day that passed.

It rattled him.

He knew he needed to talk to Rick, to explain things, because if what drunken Rick said was true then his friend… his former friend knew just what he and his wife were doing behind his back, and while it had been fun fucking around with her - had been fun loving her while Rick was oblivious to it all, now faced with the reality that Rick knew and was only turning a blind eye to it made him feel like shit.

Worse than shit if he was being so honest with himself.

Rick had always been the one who had motivated him to do better even when he had given up the fight. He had been there when he was an awkward teen with the social skills of a skittish rabbit and the daddy issues fit for a stereotypical hooker.

Rick had been the only person to stick by him throughout all the years and now that the high of infidelity had ended the shame of what he was doing to Rick had settled in, was gnawing at him from the inside until he couldn't stand to be near Rick for too long - much less Lori.

Little Carl hadn't done him a thing and despite loving the boy who he had watched grow from a tiny baby to a near teenager as if he was his own, the reality was that he wasn't.

Staring off at the darkness that laid behind them, the way they came having being swallowed up by the stark midnight he drowned out the rest of the group who were talking back where the RV's were parked, his own truck a little over twenty feet away.

Harry for all Shane had been convinced he was a minion of satan and was carrying the spawn of the devil was a good decent man. He had realized that the man had known about him and Lori and he bet if he had asked then he would be told exactly just how long and that frightened him a bit. Made him wonder just how long Rick had noticed his wife sneaking off to rut with his supposed best friend - even though he didn't deserve that title any longer, even less than Lori deserved to be his wife.

Harry had made it clear that all he had to do was tell Rick what happened. To explain to the man who probably hated his guts why it was that he woke up in a hospital bed in an abandoned hospital alone and had to be taken care of by a stranger. Harry was sure that Rick wouldn't try to shoot him or hit him but Shane disagreed. He _wanted_ Rick to lash out because then he would be able to handle the situation; would be able to handle the anger and return it with his own because he knew how to handle an angry person just not an angry Rick whose anger was directed at him.

But he'd learn because it was what he deserved.

Jumping when a pair of arms wrapped around his body Shane moved away from the warm body of Lori, the woman partially hidden in the dim light that shone from the impromptu campfire they had constructed in the middle of lane three of the highway.

"Lori what are doing?" he hissed, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming around the bend of traffic he had isolated himself to.

Lori stepped forward again, hair done up in a ponytail and clothes fresh, her brown eyes that he had fallen for stared up at him with confusion and a bit of anger.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm doing what we've been doing since the start" reaching out to him she grabbed him by the front of his shirt, yanking him closer so they were hip to hip and Shane stepped away.

"I made it clear last time I was finished with this Lori-"

"You asked me to choose between you and Rick and you know I can't do that. Carl needs both his parents not just one. You can't ask me to do that to my baby. I need Rick and he needs me just as you need me"

She stepped forward again and Shane stared at the woman he had found so enthralling and addictive.

"I don't need you Lori. I wanted you but I don't _need_ you" his heart was hammering in his chest for some reason and when she touched his cheek he flinched a bit, her lips curling.

"You need me Shane, you've needed me since the beginning but you were just too scared to admit it. Rick being here changes nothing"

Her hand reached for his belt, managing to undo the notch and tug it loose before he stepped back. This was wrong, and it wasn't as if he was now growing a conscious because he had known it was wrong all those months ago but the vast difference was that Rick hadn't been there.

Rick had been dead back then.

Rick hadn't spoken while drunk and looked utterly heartbroken when he revealed that he knew his best friend and wife were going at it like rabbits before, but he did just not long ago. Lori hadn't seen his face that night but he had. He had seen the damage he had helped to inflict upon his best friend, on the person that never gave up on him despite him having so many bad qualities.

He had helped to break a part of Rick and Shane wouldn't even fight back if the man came to shoot him now.

Lori pulled a face and reached for him again, hand curling into his t-shirt and pushing him down and he went willingly because even though his mind was objecting his body was moving to her will like a monkey trained to dance.

Climbing on top of him Lori smiled, her slender hand stroking his face while the other gently kneaded his crotch that was steadily becoming hard.

"You need me Shane. There're no more laws to say what we're doing is wrong and as long as I am the mother of his child Rick will love me with everything he has. You know this. You know that's the kind of man he is so I don't understand why you're worrying so much."

She kissed him, soft and sensual.

"You won't break up my marriage Shane, you can't. And right now I need you just like you need me."

He hissed when his dick was grasped and stroked "See? Only I can make you feel like this. Don't you still love me?"

His voice froze in his throat and the words he would've spoken back eagerly just a few short weeks ago without hesitation never came and after a couple heart beats Lori noticed it too.

"Don't you love me Shane? Don't you love how I make you feel hm?"

It felt as if he was being tugged in two different directions but regardless of what his mind was saying and his body saying the next at least both sides agreed on one thing.

It was like a lightning bolt of clarity that struck him as he stared at the slim woman who was stroking his cock that suddenly wasn't so hard anymore. There might still have been lust coursing through his body but the concept of loving her, of _needing_ her more than _life_ had been dampened.

It was like water been thrown on a roaring fire and while there was definite lust simply because she was a warm body with a wet hole there wasn't any love.

Not anymore.

"I don't."

Lori's hand paused from trying to get him back to full mass, her brown eyes looking up into his, confusion clear on his face even in the dim light.

"Excuse me?"

Shane's heart was still thundering in his ears and he wondered if that was a sign it was about to give out on him. Grabbing her wrist he removed her hand from his junk, from the dick that had plowed her for months and just shy of three weeks ago before they reached the CDC. Pushing her back he stood up, tucking himself back in and fixing his pants as Lori stared up at him, mild shock on her features.

"I don't love you."

She shot to her feet and he stepped back just in case she lashed out again. Scratches were no bullet wound but they still stung like a bitch. Shane watched as her face morphed into anger, her skin turning red and then like a switch had flipped Lori calmed down.

Straightening out her clothing she tightened her ponytail and simply stared at him.

"I don't believe you."

"Then that's your problem not mine but I said my piece, all you gotta do Lori is accept it."

"I don't believe you."

"You better believe it because nothing like this is gon-"

"You said you'd take care of me. That day when everything went wrong you said you'd take care of me and Carl. Are you going to break that promise Shane?"

Shane narrowed his eyes at her, arms crossing over his chest "You have your husband to do that now, you don't need me Lori. We can't keep doing this to Rick."

Lori took half a step forward and Shane refused to budge when she advanced.

"You came to me and told me my husband was dead. That you saw his dead body. You told my little boy that his daddy was dead and then you fucked me. You said you'd take care of us both in his place and now you want to back out? Why? Because you suddenly grew a conscious after filling me up so many times? After you screwed me for the first time when Carl was just a few feet away? You think you can back out now because you feel sorry for _Rick_? What about me!"

The truth hurt but he also needed to hear it. They both did.

"You have your husband back. Carl is safe and healthy, what more do you want Lori? How can you expect me to keep doing this when your husband, my best friend is right there close enough to hear, close enough to know? It was one thing in the woods but he's right there Lori! If we keep doing this he'll find out eventually and then what huh? What're you gonna say to him huh? That you were distressed about the missing kid that you had to fuck but not with him?"

No matter that Rick already knew.

He lowered his voice so no one would hear the heated conversation. "We may not live in a country where law abides but for fucks sake Lori Rick is _alive_ , he's here so go and be his wife instead of a whore!"

Lori stepped back as if she had been slapped and Shane was two seconds away from apologising before he bit his tongue.

"You made me this way Shane. When you climbed on top of me and fingered me I was your best friend's wife back then too. When you pushed into me and took me I was still married to Rick. All those other times that you came inside of me because you wanted a baby of your own I was still married to him but you fucked me nonetheless. You made me like this now you want to preach? You think this is sunday church that you can tell me about all my sins?"

Lori chuckled "You think you're in a place to judge? You lied about his death, fucked me, tried to steal his son and now you're what? A saint because you feel sorry? Are you going to ride off in the sunset to atone for your sins and hope that Rick forgives you for screwing his wife?"

She snorted, the rage on her face smoothing out once more as she stepped closer to him, her hand coming up to rest on his chest directly over his thumping heart, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I may be a whore but you're twice as bad. You were supposed to protect us from everything bad and evil. You were supposed to be Carl's uncle and instead what did you do; lied to him and told him his daddy was dead while shoving your cock in his mommy. You betrayed Rick because you needed me, you betrayed two decades of friendship because I was your lifeline, _am_ your lifeline."

Shane remained silent, letting her tug him downwards so she could reach his lips.

"We are not over. You owe me for corrupting me, for lying to my son… for touching me when you shouldn't have. You owe me Shane."

She pressed a kiss to his lips and he let her "I decide when we're over and if you think otherwise I'll scream rape so hard you'll wish you disobeyed your daddy all those years ago"

He moved away from her touch, his breath suddenly ragged and his chest constricted almost painfully as she smirked at him. "Shut up."

"Why should I? Your daddy was right all along but if only you admitted to it we wouldn't be in this position now would we. If only you admitted that you were a-"

Shane grabbed his arms, squeezing them and Lori smiled. He knew he looked desperate and he could feel all of the resolve he built up come crumbling down as Lori cradled his face between his hands.

"See? I told you that you needed me Shane, because the moment you decide that you don't again I won't even have to scream rape. I'll just tell Rick your secret and you won't even have to worry about betraying him anymore."

Shane stood there long after Lori had left, the feeling of her hands still on his body and her words were echoing in his head as if they were on shuffle.

When the rain came crashing down he didn't move either, the cold drops chilling him to the bone but also clearing his head a bit. There was no 'out' because Lori would win either way. He hadn't seduced her as he had been led to believe, she was the one doing all the work and he had ignorantly followed.

If only his mother could see him now, she would be ashamed to call him hers.

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Carol couldn't really remember how she got from outside to the inside of one of the RV's but when she blinked the floral pattern of the wall paper caught her attention and she stared at it for a long time. It reminded her of the one that was in her kitchen, one of the only things Ed had allowed her to pick because the kitchen was her domain and the happier she was with it then the faster she'd cook his meals.

Standing from the bed she shuffled over to the slightly faded paper. Pink blossoms shooting from green vines and purples flowers every fifth blossom, the splash of colour on a white background.

Running her hand over the paper she smiled, the memory of Sophia who had been so tiny back then, barely two years old and already so eager to help had clung on her leg, tugging the skirt she had worn and demanded to be lifted. Her baby was already the center of her back then, had been since she was placed into her in the hospital. Everything about her little girl back then had made her heart swell with so much love any notions of hatred for her because of who her father was wasn't even considered.

From her eyes, to her lips, nose and hair. Her tiny little feet and fingers that had held onto her finger that first day of life would always be with her, had replayed over several times a day when Ed had been raging over something at work and decided to take it out on her. Tender memories that her little girl created without effort, moments that kept her going through all those years.

Turning away from the wall paper a faint glimmer of light caught her eye and Carol stared at the wall carving of the crucified Jesus, the brown paint making the small decoration blend in nearly to the point that she hardly noticed it was there.

Carol wouldn't say that she was a highly devoted christian but she did pray and tried not to break any commandments. Church was always attended with the only exception was when the bruises were too much to cover with the minimal makeup she was allowed for situations like that.

Other than that she was attend church every sunday and the store once a week. Back before the world turned upside down she had no friends, lost contact with her family shortly after marrying Ed and wasn't allowed to socialize beyond the market and church simply because if she tried to then Ed would beat her to bloody pulp.

She wasn't ashamed to admit that her husband had frightened her to her core. Had made her want to cry by simply being in the same room as her. Her was controlling, domineering and abusive simply because he knew she wouldn't fight back - that she couldn't and a part of her didn't want to fight back because that part of her remembered how Ed had been when they first starting dating.

He had been sweet and thoughtful, always opening doors for her and buying her pretty things, taking her out on dates in his pickup truck and showing her off to all of his friends. Her father had been thrilled that she had found herself a stand up man, someone who would provide for her especially when her older sister had failed to do so and had gotten pregnant twice without a ring on her finger and a steady man at her side.

Carol had believed that she had made it, had become the woman her mother would have been proud of and that day when her father walked her down the aisle she felt such great freedom at having accomplished something that many women never got the chance to. Her honeymoon had been marvelous. He had taken such good care of her, treated her as if she was made of glass and the ecstasy she had felt that week would never compare to anything else she felt during entire her marriage to him.

Three months after she was still riding on the blissful cloud of being Mrs. Carol Peletier was when Ed first hit her. It hadn't hurt as much as it shocked her and he apologised so earnestly that she had forgiven him instantly because her Ed wasn't the type to beat women, it had just been a bit of anger and it had been her fault after all since she knew just how he liked his lasagna.

The second time it happened there were no apologies from him and when he was finished he had stormed out, truck tires squealing as he pulled out of the driveway. She had stared at her battered face that night, right side swollen already and her lip busted.

But she didn't blame him because he was stressed from losing his job and she had only made it worse by asking questions.

So she had forgiven him because it had been her fault.

The beatings always ranged between horrible and bad, sometimes she couldn't move for hours without throwing up and other times she could get up after a few minutes but she always endured because it wasn't like she had anyone to talk to. Her siblings hated her and her parents thought she was happy and she couldn't shatter that illusion so selfishly.

Sex since he began to hit her was always rough and quick, sometimes she would be so turned off the sensation of him entering her burned and kept burning for days, she even believed that her body was broken when he told her because she wasn't 'getting wet enough', a fact that he told his drinking buddies that came every Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays and she had stood there with her face burning as they laughed, alcohol influence already strong with beer and whiskey in their systems.

Zeb Wilson, Jimmy Don Trace and Cooter Hayes.

Three names she would never forget even if she forgot her own.

Cooter had asked Ed if he could see and her husband in a drunken state agreed. Had sat and watched as his friends stripped her naked and raped her, had kept on touching her even when he had passed out and only woke up in the afternoon.

They came Wednesday night again and no one mentioned the incident, Carol had served them drinks and food like normal because out of the four men only Jimmy Don seemed to remember, his eyes lingering on her body when Ed wasn't looking but she saw and felt his stare that caught hers every now and then until he left to go back home to his wife and children.

She had prayed everyday for it to get better, for Ed to love her like he did back when they were a bit younger and he was still the man she had fallen for. She prayed until her prayers were answered a year later and she was blessed with Sophia who was only a tiny being inside of her and for those nine months Ed didn't lay a hand on her, she thought that this was maybe what he had wanted all the time a child of his own to show off.

He had gone on and on about how he wanted a little rascal a boy to teach how to fix cars with so she prayed again and again that the baby inside of her would be a boy.

That day in the hospital when the nurse announced that she had a beautiful baby girl her heart soared even when Ed's face fell and his hand tightened around her shoulder. Two days after she was released from the hospital he backhanded her - accused her of lying to him about the baby being a boy even when she hadn't known the gender until two days ago.

She had tried her best to shield her baby from any of his fits of anger, always shooed her outside to play or lock her in her bedroom when Ed was in a particularly frightful rage that she knew would only end with someone being beaten unconscious but she didn't mind.

Didn't care as long as Sophia was with her. Carol had loved seeing her beautiful baby girl grow from such a tiny human to a toddler, then into an adolescent and while Carol wasn't allowed anything pretty that would show off her figure or flatter her in anyway she always pleaded to Ed when he was in a more docile mood to buy Sophia something nice.

She had asked until she saw his gaze lingering on Sophia childish body, his tongue coming out to wet his lips. How he would squeeze her close to his body and press lingering kisses to her neck under the pretense of being silly and his hand would cup her bottom when he lifted her from the ground and made her wrap her legs around his body because he wanted to see 'how big his little girl had gotten'.

Carol had seen his hungry gaze and her blood had ran cold because she knew what that meant, so she had done the only thing she knew how to besides cook and house work.

She prayed and her prayers were answered in the form of her neighbor mauling her husband.

Blinking Carol reached out to touch the smooth carving of Jesus, plucking it from the wall and gently resting it on the bed she had woken up on. Praying always worked because God had delivered her through hell then back and she was still standing so he had to, he had to bring her baby back into her arms.

Kneeling she stared at the small figure of Jesus who was nailed on the cross.

"Father please forgive me. I know that I don't deserve your mercy for all of the things I have wished for but you delivered us from Atlanta when I asked for safe passage. I prayed for Ed to be punished for laying his hands on me and for looking at his own daughter with whatever sickness that was growing within his soul."

Carol bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I prayed that you'd put a stop to it, to give me a chance to raise her right so that she wouldn't make the same mistakes that I did. God she's so fearful, so young and hasn't had the chance to live yet. I know that praying for Ed's death was a sin, I know that I have evil in my heart for wishing for his demise but Lord please don't let this be my punishment, please don't let my baby bare my crosses for my sins."

She often heard Jacqui saying that this was humanity's punishment from God for all the evil that humans did to one another and the earth and she agreed. From the wars, genocides, massacres, hate crimes on denominations of colour and sex - she truly believed that God was punishing them but -

"Please let her be safe. Alive and safe. Please Lord I beg you. Let my Sophia be safe. Punish me for my sins however you desire but please protect my baby. Please show mercy on her Lord, show her the mercy you wished your child was shown."

Come morning she would look for her baby but until dawn came she would keep praying. God delivered her from Ed and he would deliver her baby back to her. He had to.

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Rick stared at his wife as she came back to the group, a blanket in hand that she draped around Carl's shoulders before sitting down next to him with her finger interlacing with his own and her head resting on his shoulder.

Later that night when the fire died down a bit and Merle along with Shane took guard on top of the RV so that everyone else could have a night's rest he stared up at her when she climbed on top of him as naked as she was brought into the world.

Lori slowly undressed him, taking her time to strip him of his shirt and vest, then his pants and underwear. Unlaced his shoes and pulled off his socks then took him into her mouth. He kept silent as she rode him, his fingers gripping her waist and his blue eyes watching as he breast bounced.

He hadn't had sex in a car since he was maybe ten years younger and didn't have a son yet.

Sex with Lori wasn't at breathtaking as it once had been, the thrill of possession he felt of having such a beautiful woman as his wife and mother of his child faded with the knowledge of the affair. Now sex with her just seemed like a chore that left him feeling dirty all around.

He didn't want to think of how many times Shane had been inside of his wife, of how many times Lori had let him do things to her that only he should be allowed to do.

Rick had tried, God himself knows that Rick had tried to see it from their perspective. Had tried to imagine just why the two people he trusted the most besides Harry would seek to cut him so deep but he couldn't reason with logic.

He had woken up in a hospital bed, in pain and confused and surrounded by ghosts and ghouls with only a stranger to keep him alive while his wife, best friend and child were somewhere else playing happy family.

He had suffered through days of agony wondering if his son and small family had been killed, if they were now like the poor souls he had seen stumbling about as Harry helped him down the stairs and outside to where the bodies were laid out in sheets.

He had cried because he thought he had lost everyone he cared about without knowing because he had been asleep.

He tuned back in, blinking as Lori kissed him, her walls squeezing around him as she moaned his name when he knew she was just fine moaning Shane's instead.

He wasn't wearing a condom but the orgasm surprised him and he came before he could pull out, Lori shuddering and praising him when she climbed off, her mouth cleaning him of both their fluids.

Carl was asleep in the RV, taking the pull out bed while Daryl and Harry slept in the other bed and at this point he felt safer leaving his son with the stranger who nursed him back to health and helped him find his family rather than he did with Lori.

"Rick? Are you okay sweetheart?" his blue eyes flickered down and he gave her a small smile.

"Just thinkin'."

Lori snuggled up to him and he wrapped an arm around her naked waist. "About what hm? Want to talk about it?"

Rick looked out the back window and from the angle he lying in he could see Shane's lower body perfectly enough and he hadn't even realized they were that close to the two awake men. Turning his gaze back to Lori's brown eyes he shook his head.

"Just thinking about Sophia and how we'll have to find her before he need to keep moving"

Lori shook her head "We can't leave until we find her, she has to be around the area and even of we don't find her she'll find us"

Lot's of things irritated Lori - from their old neighbors who always gossiped about the fact that Rick worked late hours and left her alone with Carl to the football team both he and Shane favoured but the one thing he knew she hated with a passion was Harry.

"Our rations are running low and within a day we're going to be out and Harry needs proper food, the scraps that he's eating aren't enough"

He wasn't even surprised when her face did something complicated and he relaxed expression turned into a glare.

"Carl is doing just fine and he's a little boy so _Harry_ can wait until we find Sophia. Think about Carol and how she'll feel if we leave her child out in those woods alone!"

Rick frowned "Carl is barely hanging onto what we give him and right now the entire group needs proper meals not just a stale granola bar and water. Harry needs it more than we do at this point. Do you think I want to leave without finding Sophia? That little girl is one of ours, she's a part of this group and under my protection Lori but you can't expect me to let Harry and the others suffer just so we can find her."

"But you can't leave her out there Rick!"

"I'm not!" he didn't mean to raise his voice, Lori flinched back and making him rub his eyes before he took a deep breath.

Recently he had very little patience for her and it was beginning to show. "I'm not Lori. We won't stop looking but how are we supposed to search for her if we're starving? These woods don't have any animals and my gut is saying that she moved onwards, that she followed the river the same way we were following the highway. We're bound to find her eventually."

"And what if you're wrong. What if we leave this spot to find food and she comes back. What then?"

Rick laid back, his eyes looking out the back window where the fire was illuminating the area and he could see Shane's hand toying with his boots.

"We'll find her." he said firmly "Sophia may be young but she's smarter than some."

When he gave the order to move out a day later he ignored Lori's glare and Carol's pleads. If Sophia was still alive then the girl wasn't in the surrounding area. The walker they gutted proved it wasn't her inside its belly and they found no evidence that the little girl was still around. He didn't want to leave just yet but he had more than one person to think about within the group.

They would find Sophia, just not there.

"Move out!"

The jeep came to life and he watched as Dale carried the RV forward, Daryl on his bike moving on up ahead with Merle driving his truck. To his knowledge Jacqui was with Harry and Carl was with Lori in the other RV where Carol was.

Rubbing his eyes he looked up in time to meet Shane's eyes, the man's widening a bit before he nodded slightly and looked away, his jeep pushing him ahead of Rick who moved off afterwards. Looking in the rearview mirror he checked for any sign of someone moving until he was too far away and focused on the road ahead instead.

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 **A/n:** Annnd chapter 10 is finished. Thank you all those who faved and followed and most importantly reviewed. Reviews are like the fuel to my engine. Nothing more to add so until next chapter~!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n:** Ya'll see s2e2 of twd when Shane finally got to Hershel's farm and Rick had smeared blood on his forehead, then Shane took out his scarf and gently wiped away the blood? The eye contact and how gentle Shane was with Rick when Rick was falling apart always gives me feels. Anywho, enjoy the chapter and sorry for any mistakes found.

 **Warnings:** Nothing really.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **It's okay. You got blood. I'll take it from you"**

 **-Shane**

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Harry lived by the rule of pessimism where he believed in not only Murphy's Law but Sod's as well as Finagle's. In fact he he took it a step further and combined all three law's in a direct formula of tragedy because despite him encouraging people i.e Daryl, that they would find something on the highway his husband knew him well enough.

His optimism was like bullshit sprinkled with a generous dosage of edible confetti. Pretty but still bullshit underneath, however, it always seemed to help his husband and occasionally Rick and anyone else who was blessed to hear it.

But that still didn't mean that he was an optimistic person just because he could pretend to be. During his time as a doctor every time he was assigned a patient he would mentally prepare for the person to die at any moment and when they didn't then he would count that as a win.

It was morbid as hell but it kept him sane because quoting 'anything that can go wrong will go wrong, with the worst possible outcome, at the worst possible time' kept him from being a depressed mess every time a patient did die even if his diagnosis and examination pointed towards that being so. Sure in his field of study he didn't get much life or death situations - thank god, it was still a bit heartbreaking when he got a patient who had severe damage done to their central nervous system and the ratio of successful surgery was a single digit to a large double digit.

Smiling at Carl when the boy sloppily shuffled the cards in his hand he feigned ignorance and then mild shock when the boy pulled the third card and asked if it was his.

"Oh my… Rick I think you have a magician on your hands"

Carl's grin only grew larger and Rick who obviously didn't want to squash his son's dream of becoming a magician while living amongst zombies just ruffled his hair and gave Harry a look of mild bemusement.

It wasn't that Harry _wanted_ something bad to happen, it was just that he expected shit to.

For the metaphorical 'other shoe' to drop.

For shit to hit the symbolic fan.

For something to happen within the cosmic balance that would even out their recent luck so he could think of another allegorical meaning and not be so antsy about it.

Since they left Route whatever and something, the highway dissolving in a road that was cushioned by healthy forests on both sides and luckily for them it didn't take an entire day before Daryl and Merle came back with several squirrels, one or two rabbits and a couple of fish.

In his eyes Daryl had looked like a warrior now returning from battle with the furry critters draped over his shoulder, his face smudged with dirt and blood spots on his shirt. Maybe it was the hormones talking but after his stuffed himself silly with food he wanted another stuffing.

Unlike the woods near the highway the forest was alive with birds calling to one another and the occasional sound that was identified as deer.

God what Harry would give to eat a piece of Bambi…

And who knew, if Shane and Rick were successful he would get to eat some venison soon enough. Carl had pleaded and begged both his father and uncle to take him hunting with them because while Daryl was all mush and goo with Harry he still glared at everyone else in the group including little Carl.

Harry hid his smile and pulled another card, barely glancing over it before sliding it back into the pack. Rick had suggested Carl ask Daryl to take him when he left again and the boy had pale and quickly shook his head much to his, Rick's and Daryl's amusement. Lori on the other hand wasn't so thrilled by the suggestion and told Carl that if he asked Shane nicely then his uncle would take him.

Carl had turned, practically bouncing on his feet "Uncle Shane! Take me hunting with you! I wanna see a deer - please!"

Shane had looked like a deer caught in headlights, brown eyes shifting from Lori, to Rick and then Carl. Hell he even glanced at Harry who raised an eyebrow at him in silent amusement because this was just like putting the poor man between a rock and a raging bear.

It was like watching a game of ping pong when Shane deflected the recommendation and told Carl in no more than seven words

"You should ask your dad first squirt"

Carl had turned to Rick who much to Harry's amusement was staring at Shane with something unreadable in his blue eyes, the look vanishing to a more calm one when he looked at his son.

"It's fine if you want to go with Shane son. He's your uncle after all right?"

"Yea but you're his father right - I don't uh.. I don't wanna impose or anything like that so it's okay if you uh. If you want to take him. This is something a father and son should do. Not honorary uncle and nephew"

By then Merle and Daryl were halfway finished skinning and gutting the rabbits and squirrels, the fish already over the fire and roasting and Harry looked over at his husband who pulled a face at the three adults standing over Harry bickering who would take Carl hunting as if it was custody battle.

Smiling he sipped on the peppermint leaves tea, a fresh pot finished with leaves that Daryl found in the bunches while out in the forest - Jacqui having inspected them before Harry was allowed any.

Sighing he rubbed at his belly, the heavy mound seemingly having dropped which if he remembered clearly was an indication of impending pain before his spawn entered the world kicking and screaming. Raising a hand as if he was in class Harry smiled up at Lori, Shane and Rick.

"How about you both take him and make the experience twice as fun."

Lori pulled a face, Shane looked vaguely sick and Rick just narrowed his eyes on him as if he had an ulterior motive for suggesting such a thing.

Carl was his favourite between the the Grimes when the little boy cheered with a grin wider than the sun.

"Please please please please dad! Please uncle Shane! That'd be so cool! All three of us men going out to hunt-"

Harry was sure Carl wasn't even experiencing the the tingle of tiny pubic weeds growing yet but then again Daryl was proclaiming he was a man when he met him at eight so potato, potahto.

Rick finally gave in though he never stopped giving Harry the suspicious look that he suspected he used on criminal and so it was decided.

Lori gave Harry a much dirtier look, fleeing the scene of excitement that was produced by her kid and Shane went back over to the Dixon one and two, grabbing a rabbit to gut.

Jacqui was in the RV with Carol, Glenn and T-dog were keeping watch and Dale was with Andrea who was finally shaking the heavier part of the grief slowly but surely.

They still hadn't found any traces of Sophia and after lunch some of them would head back out in groups to search for her. Carol hadn't stopped crying since that day, every time he saw her her eyes were bloodshot and she looked as pale as a ghost but unlike mending Rick he couldn't offer anything to make her feel better.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're enjoying this?"

"But ah, not so young jedi, your feeling is in fact the truth of such reality" Harry looked at Rick who took the empty seat beside him and immediately giggled perplexed expression he was wearing.

Back when they were travelling from the hospital and had holed themselves up in the house in the suburbs Harry had told Rick about the various showed he watch, the characters he loved and hated and often used his best voice impersonations which Daryl had told him multiple times weren't very good. Rick who wasn't very much older than he was would always get this dazed look on his face that was so silly compared to the man's normal persona.

And like now Harry would always laugh at it.

Rick rolled his eyes and Harry knew if the man wasn't so strictly professional even now he technically wasn't a cop by law anymore he would've pouted. Nudging his friend's arm Rick smiled and tucked Harry's hand back on his belly.

"How're you feeling?" Rick's blue eyes were so earnest Harry looked away.

"Better now that I can see actual meat being prepped and not stale granola. I felt as if I would've jumped on Daryl when I saw him with the rabbit at first. Like ninja tackled him and stolen it while screaming my precious!"

Rick snorted and Harry knew the reference was lost on him but whatever, Rick had brains beyond tv to compliment his looks.

"I have to ask you something" Harry blinked slowly when Rick leaned closer to him but followed so they were nearly cheek to cheek.

"Did I… uh, _say_ anything back at the CDC that night we all got ahold of the liquor?"

Harry stared at Rick for several long seconds as he contemplated what he should say. On one hand it could be healthy for the man to admit it aloud that he did in fact know about the skin on skin action his best friend and wife were taking part in and that it did in fact bother him six ways to hell.

On the other hand it could also make his very sweet and caring friend revert back into the blissfully oblivious person who was only glad that he found his family and was content to just be there.

"Harry?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his messy styled hair. "Yea. You said some stuff"

"Like what exactly"

"Like how you knew your best friend was fucking your wife kinda stuff"

Staring at Rick whose eyes widened and his face went from embarrassed to pale in a matter of seconds Harry wondered if he was about to catch a fit because he was so blunt. There wasn't any sugar coating it unfortunately and he certainly wasn't in any mood to sieve powdered sugar on top of the mess he had found upon waking up in a tent back in the quarry.

"D-Did anyone hear? Did-"

"No not really. Only Daryl and I heard most of it. Oh and Shane because he was so close by. Lori or Carl didn't hear don't worry"

Though in Harry's opinion the woman would benefit greatly from being told off. Some would argue that since they were technically in a form of apocalyptic world now then small things like marriage and commitment and fidelity weren't major issues - and he would agree.

Only under the terms of if you knew for a fact that your husband was dead and certainly not with his best friend. But then again Harry wasn't like Lori, not as an insult but his husband was a hermit and the person closest to a 'best friend' was Merle. Imagining himself shacking up with Merle was maybe the single most disgusting thing he had ever imagined.

And he had seen more brains and guts these past few months than he had seen while being a doctor in both England and America.

Rick was a very attractive man and his best friend was certainly easy on the eyes as well and while his brother-in-law wasn't ghastly - Harry shuddered and he saw Daryl narrow his eyes at him from over by the fire-pit. Comical since his eyes were natural squinted.

"If it helps any and please don't think I make it a habit of being the neutral party but you guys need to talk"

The former deputy seemed to shut down right before Harry's eyes, his once relaxed pose turned rigid and though he leaned back to feign nonchalance he was stiff. "There's nothing to talk about Harry. We both know what happened, god knows how long. Maybe that's why I was left behind, so they could quit pretending and just dive straight into it"

"You don't know that Rick"

"Well I do know that they left me to rot in a hospital bed only to find them fraternizing like they're a bunch of teenagers. I do know that much Harry, it doesn't take a genius like yourself to see the truth behind all this"

While Harry knew the genius part was supposed to have been some kind of backwards insult he still took it as the compliment he heard it to be but all jokes aside he understood Rick's anger.

Not the part where his wife and best friend were bumping uglies but the part where he honestly felt betrayed and alone, like nothing would ever make the very wrong situation better again.

Harry had so many of those moments, unfortunately many of them were as a kid but he remembered them vividly.

At this point his life now was beginning to resemble more of a soap opera than the bloody apocalypse and he was so not going to be the 'wise' character that everyone came to for advice. He was not about to recreate _Days of Our Lives_ with an Apocalypse edition. Though Daryl did have the whole Patch thing going on.

"I know that nothing justifies what they did and you're a lot calmer than I would be so I give you mean props for that I do, but if you're gonna throw away twenty years of friendship at least listen to what he has to say and then decide if you'd rather shoot him in the face or exile him like Simba did Kovu."

"Like Simba did...what?"

Harry rolled his eyes so hard he saw white for a moment.

"I swear you're a neanderthal with a pretty face sometimes. Just listen to what he has to say then make your decision that's all I'm saying."

Rick stared at Harry who stared back, watching as rick's blue eyes narrowed accusingly.

"You two have been talking haven't you." the accusation was clear as a bell and Harry sighed.

"You make me sound like part of the grapevine in a high school clique but yea, we had a few words."

"So you agree with-"

"Don't be daft Rick. You're better than that." he wanted to say to leave that shit to Lori but Harry wasn't in the mood to be petty especially not when the meat was cooking and his hunger was gnawing at his stomach.

"All I said was that we spoke, accidentally I'll have you know because despite me saving your butt I'm not nice enough to suddenly forgive someone who threatened me and my kid. I stumbled upon him a night back at the CDC and I gave some advice. Just like I'm giving you and just like Shane you can decide to take it or leave it, it's not my bromance that'll be destroyed forever the longer you two dance around the subject like you both have happy feet."

Harry rubbed at his stomach where his baby was kicking up a storm and he supposed it was responding to his hunger "There there, daddy showed us how strong of a man he is and is cooking us up some food, hang in there"

He glanced at Daryl who seemed to have a sixth sense because the man looked up soon after, head tilting and Harry waved at him, receiving a half assed flutter of fingers.

Rick was no longer staring at him, the condemnation that had been aimed his way was no longer there. He really wasn't trying to play the fixer upper part because it simply wasn't in his morals to try and fix people's relationships. He would try t fix people themselves sure since his job title had basically said so but their relationships and moral compasses? No no, that was a job left for people who liked bullshit and ate it regularly.

"Besides." blue eyes flickered up to meet his green and Harry pressed his thumb a few inches left on his belly.

"With the world it is now, can you really afford to lose people who know you almost as well you know yourself? It's eat or be eaten out here now, and yes I'll say that Shane needs a good kick in the nuts sometimes but from what I've seen in the moments he wasn't threatening my existence back at the camp, he can hold his own pretty well and we need as many reliable people as we possibly can have."

Rick scowled.

"And you need as many people as you can get to help share all that weight you got on your shoulders. I would help but my center of gravity is already fucked and Daryl would tell you fuck off a cliff so Shane's your next best bet."

Rick looked away again, this time staring at anywhere that wasn't him or Shane. Ugh he was surrounded by such children. He was the one with the traumatic childhood so shouldn't he be the one who was emotionally constipated and socially retarded?

"Rick." he waited until the man looked his direction before continuing.

"I'm not telling you to disregard your feelings, let them out, blow up in his face, exchange some hits or whatever it is you all do in the wild but talk while you're at it. Hell if you both feel better naked in order to wrestle it out then express yourself, just get to bottom of this shit before it breaks you 'cause believe it or not, I don't got a sixteenth of the shit I had back when we first met to put you back together again."

He said his piece on the matter and that was it. His caring metre was low and he wouldn't be doing any of that anytime soon. Whether they talked and worked it out or they let it simmer before boiling over and making a mess was all in their hands now and the only three things he wanted in his hands were his baby, food and Daryl's dick.

Not necessarily in that order either.

Though he wasn't going to say anymore since he had already pushed the metaphorical baby bird from the next to let it spread its wings he still had things that he left unsaid and such things would remain that way.

Things that told Rick to focus his anger on both participants not just one. If he was going to have sex with one then he might as well do it with the next - stuff like that but he felt as though Rick knew these things but on some level he was too afraid of venturing out of the comfy little zone he had made for himself.

Harry couldn't relate to the infidelity part of what Rick was going through. Daryl was too much of a grumpy introvert to even make brain waves of interest in someone else beyond a cursory glance and for Harry there had only ever been Daryl.

Sure he had been teased about it while studying, back when he was a teenager and into his twenties the men and women in his classes had called him a prude and inexperienced. He still remembered some of them failing their marriages and paying more alimony than they could afford before they reach thirty. Not his fault his 'prudish ways' had snagged him a keeper.

Looking at Daryl he smiled, his husband too caught up in glaring at his brother to allow his spider senses to tingle and look his way but that was okay. He liked to admire Daryl every day if he could, to compare the scrawny, half starved, no manners, practically illiterate boy he had known to this some manners, gruff, squinty eyed, secretly romantic man who could take down a deer like Conan the Barbarian.

He didn't want to see Daryl in a loincloth however. Butt-naked was just fine.

 **.**

 **DH**

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His uncle had often told him that he was a bringer of bad luck, that his kind were devil worshipers who only brought evil and hardship upon the righteous and pure.

At that time Harry had figured his uncle Vernon was ditzy on the whiskey but soon enough that was the mantra his small 'family' always repeated whenever something went wrong within the Dursley home.

A plate broke so it was Harry's fault, nevermind that Harry was outside weeding the garden.

The food burned so then it was automatically Harry's fault despite him not cooking that particular wednesday.

A family member that not even Vernon gave two shits about died and Harry had 'summoned his evil kin to strike death upon poor Melinda Ruth Robinson,' because of course, it couldn't be because the Dursley family had a nasty genetic habit of being grossly overweight because they were all gluttons.

Looking back now he came to wonder if his uncle was rolling in his grave now that Harry was about to become a parent to his own child. If good ole uncle Vernon would be turning purple seeing Harry married and happy to another man who loved him unconditionally.

If his maternal aunt Petunia would look at him with even more disgust to see his belly distended and a gold band on his person.

God knew that Dudley would probably puke where he stood, the tub of bacon and donuts that he had been.

Blinking slowly he sighed, rubbing at his temple to fight off the headache that was ready to constrict his nerve endings. He was thankful for every mouthful of food he was given, not just since the apocalypse had taken a hold of the world (by the vulva and boobs, because _duh_ the earth was female), but since he was a child and had begged for food like Oliver Twist who had it a lot better than he did.

Harry also didn't fight for food, couldn't - given his center of gravity was practically none, especially when there was plenty to go around and they weren't starving anymore, knock on wood.

These were things he contemplated when he simply wanted to ignore people, to drown out the utter nonsense that was being thrown back and forth by the two opposing parties.

Daryl looked ready to throw away the manners that had been installed into him all those years ago and just strangle her, and as morbidly lovely as that would be to witness he didn't think Rick who had a barrel of patience and understanding could watch as his somewhat kinda estranged wife was slowly killed.

Reaching out to the only child they had left in the group Harry motioned for him to come, Carl hesitated to look up at his mother who was spitting fury at Daryl.

"Come on." he beckoned him closer.

Carl glanced at her again before he dragged his feet, looking for all the world like he had done something dreadful when in fact it was all his mother. It wasn't as if he entirely disagreed with Lori about feeding Carl first. Children were to them like treasure was to a dragon, and yes in every movie that involved shit like this the children were always fed first but that was usually when food was on short supply and provisions low.

This was however not the case with them.

Patting the lawn chair next to him Harry waited until Carl was sitting before handing over his bowl of rabbit and squirrel stew. Carl's blue eyes that were almost comparable to Rick's widened and in moments like these he saw Rick shine through the little eleven year old body that was a bit on the short side, not like he had any place to judge height.

Shaking his head the boy sent a quick look of - was that fear? Towards Daryl and Harry withheld the amused snort of laughter at the impression his husband had on the kid, then another look towards his mother who was still going at it with the current youngest Dixon.

"I can't." Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Why can't you? Not like Daryl will eat you or something."

Carl shook his head again "No I can't. Dad said once when I asked him for a baby brother that babies are a lot of work, 'specially when they're all tiny and inside you and stuff. So mommies like you need a lot of food to uh, keep then growing and stuff"

Harry wasn't even offended at being called a 'mummy' because while adults made shit complicated, the simplicity of a child never failed.

Rolling his eyes Harry smiled, tucking a brown strand of hair behind Carl's ear.

"To be honest with you hun, adults are kinda bonkers" at Carl's confused look he elaborated "Stupid. Adults are kinda stupid" Carl giggled and Harry was amused by the fact that the boy agreed wholeheartedly.

"We like to over complicate stuff" pointing at the group of glaring, snarling and vaguely threatening worded phrases coming from the others a couple feet away.

"But your mum is right, you should have the first bowl-" Carl's face scrunched up in very obvious offence and Harry quickly explained "Not because you are a persay kid but because you're _her_ kid and she wants the very best for you and as it stands you are currently the youngest, even if you're very mature and grown up for your age"

Carl's insulted expression turned less outraged and more poutish. "But I'm not a baby anymore. _You_ have a baby inside _you_ so that's why you should get the first bowl like dad and Daryl say"

Harry tilted his head a bit and considered his next words very carefully. How was he supposed to tell a kid who was by all rights and means about to go through puberty that even when his balls finally dropped and he spawned spawns that his mother will still consider him her 'baby'.

"That's how parents are buddy. I don't mind since there's an entire pot but if it'll make you feel better how about the next time you get something sweet, I get half of it"

Carl laughed a bit "Like what?"

Harry considered it as seriously as he did with what anime and manga he chose to watch and read, something sweet that he would definitely love hmm...

"How about chocolate pudding"

It was Carl's turn to raise an eyebrow "Where am I gonna find that?"

Good question "When you find some then we'll know. So do we have a deal?" Harry held out his free hand to the boy who sent another jittery look in Daryl's direction, and really, where did this phobia of his husband come from?

"Are you suuure Harry?"

"As long as I get my chocolate pudding yup"

"And it'll make them stop arguing?"

Harry turned his head to look at the pissed off guise Daryl was wearing, the angry flush on Lori's cheeks, Jacqui's alarmed one, Merle's deeply satisfied smirk, Shane's poorly concealed nervous but semi nonchalant one and Rick's own that spoke of quickly losing patience.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be like a unicorn pooping a rainbow if you do"

Carl giggled madly but clasped his smaller hand in his, Harry shook the given appendage and handed over the warm bowl of animal meat which contained Dale's stash of extensive spices that lasted this long into the journey.

Ruffling the boy's hair when he made a sound of appreciation Harry clapped his hands three times until Daryl turned his squinty blues his way, the others following.

"Okay if you're all done your pissing competition I'd _really_ like to eat something before my kid is thirty. Yes I gave Carl the stew and no I don't care"

Lori took that as a victory and Daryl took that as a declaration of war and thus the arguing began again like another round of dimwitted musical chairs.

The headache was less of a possibility and more of a booming thunder in his head now and looking at Carl who seemed to have lost the gusto that he initially to tasting the food, the little boy wilting a bit.

"You know it really fucking sucks when one of the most mature people within a group of adults is a child"

It would've been funny how the argument came to a halt if he wasn't about to be on a roll.

"Excuse me?" he glared right back at Lori who turned her poisonous glare his way.

"You heard me and while I can say a lot of things to you, _about_ you, right now I'll just stick to the fact that you two -" he pointed at both her and Daryl "Are like goddamned chickens without heads. Who the fuck cares if I eat first or second? The point is we have food and you two are letting it go cold by arguing about something that is as useful as tits on a bull!"

He pointed at Lori "You, just because he's your kid doesn't mean he gets first served because you say so. Your word isn't law in fact I equate it to as much consider I give my shit."

He turned his gaze onto Daryl "And you."

His husband looked mildly alarmed that he was being chastised. "I understand that you mean well, I do, god knows I do but I'm not entitled to being fed first either okay? you made enough for everyone twice over so please stop squabbling and just share the fucking food so that I can feed your kid whose nibbling on my intestines."

His angry rant may have dissolved into a near plea but his stomach was currently gnawing on itself so dignity didn't really matter much.

Lori looked ready to open her mouth but Rick quickly dropped his hands on her shoulders, pulling her backwards away from the group. He didn't know where he took her but it was only when he was halfway through his first bowl did they come back; Rick looking more annoyed than when he left.

Daryl grudgingly served Lori some, the woman stomping off to the otherside of the the campfire.

Turing to Carl he smiled "See? Like a unicorn pooping a rainbow"

Carl's mad giggles made the heavy atmosphere a bit lighter and he was content to keep the joke between them two even when questioning gazes flickered between him and the youngest Grimes.

 **.**

 **DH**

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Shane walked slightly behind the father and son duo, his gun strapped around his torso and his eyes peeled to their surroundings that were pleasantly empty and bare of anything remotely undead. This forest was beautiful to him, a reminder of nature and it's beauty even when there was so much death around them.

He love it.

He looked to his left directly at Rick, watching as the man ruffled Carl's hair, the little boy he watched grow up grinning before he pointed ahead and Shane watched him run off. Not too far, just a couple of feet of space between them as he explored the area.

The leaves and twigs were scrunching under his boots and every now and then there was a hollow 'crack' in which he suspected there were acorns under the dried leaves, stashes left by squirrels that never got buried properly. Licking his lips he picked up the pace a bit until he was side by side with Rick, his former best friend friend glancing his direction for but a moment before he looked away.

Licking his bottom lip again Shane his fingernail to scratch at the material of his jeans, a nervous habit of his and he glad that Rick was ignoring him beyond the cursory glance to not notice it.

How the hell was he supposed to 'fix things' if he couldn't even get out a simple 'hello or I'm sorry' to the man he had wronged so many times he lost count.

He was familiar with guilt but this one was clawing at his insides worst than anything Lori could say to him. He came to terms with that fact last night after his mind refused to rest even though his body was exhausted. Lori for all her beauty and seduction had turned ugly on the inside and even if she told Rick that -

Even if she exposed him to Rick he decided that earning the man's forgiveness was more important to him than his dignity. He could heal from humiliation, but this guilt that was eating away at him every time Rick refused to acknowledge him beyond curt words that bordered on professional politeness; it felt like someone was chipping away at his lungs.

He had made Rick cold like this, had made his best friend close himself off because he was too stupid to stop himself from doing what he kne was wrong, and why? Because he was desperate to have something - someone he couldn't so he got the second best thing? Or was it because he was jealous of -

' _Just tell him the truth'_

The truth was harder to spit out that he thought it would be, but either he let go of his pride or be eaten alive by the monsters that were stuck in his head.

"Rick" he called out, noticing just how the man's name felt foreign on his tongue, almost heavy like lead and not nearly as unpleasant as it did when he said it while speaking to Lori.

The only indication he got that he was heard was the slight falter in the slow steps Rick was taking as he watched Carl up ahead, the former deputy didn't even so much as twitch in his direction.

Shane needed Rick to look at him even if that may just make him freeze up, he needed Rick to look at him for this.

"Rick" Shane watched as Rick sped up a bit and he had to take an extra step to be next to him again.

"Rick!" reaching out he grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back a bit only to have his hand knocked away and furious blue glared at him before they seemed to smooth over with an imitation of composure.

He didn't want that. This fake politeness when he could easily see the blues shimmering with anger that bubbling under the thin layer of calm.

"We need to talk" Rick raised an eyebrow at him and Shane bit his tongue from snapping at the man to stop being such a saintly fuck. To scream at him and do something other than avoid this - this whatever it was.

Rick had always had an unnerving equanimity about him, even when he was dragged into a fight during their high school years the man had never lashed out in anger, had always tried to diffuse the situation even when it earned him a pretty black eye.

Shane like a star struck bird had admired that about the then boy since day one when they first met because being popular, smart and not having an over inflated ego was hard to pull off but Rick managed just fine. More than fine since he befriended Shane's wimpy ass and molded him into someone with self-confidence and self-respect.

And look what he did to repay to him. Sleep with his wife and abandoned him in a cannibal infested hospital in a deserted town.

"I… I need to tell-"

"Dad! Shane!" both of them turned towards to where Carl was, or better yet where Carl should have been.

"Carl? Carl where are you!" Rick had his gun drawn and Shane followed suit, taking his shotgun in hand.

"I'm here! You gotta come see this!"

Shane felt panic rising a bit in his chest as both he and Rick jogged the short distance around the bend of thick bush where Carl was standing, Rick immediately going over and nudging the boy behind him, Shane holding onto Carl's shoulder to tuck the confused looking boy behind him as well.

At first Shane had assumed it was a walker all the police training he had endured kicking in like a switch and the safety came off, Rick was quicker with his hand gun when the dry leaves became unsettled as something walked closer into the view between the skinny branches of young short trees and bush.

Four boney brown legs attached to a brown body that held antler on top of its head. A young buck that looked healthy enough to eat.

"Holy shit.."

It took him a minute or two to lower his gun but he supposed that when you saw something like a deer for the first time in months then it was bound to take your breath away. Deer were plenty before everything turned upside down and the last time he he saw one was three days before Rick had been shot when they were called out on dispatch.

He had helped his neighbor to guide the young doe and buck out of his garden without resorting to injuring the animals who sprinted back into the deep forest the first chance they got.

Now this being the first time since then he was a bit fascinated at such a simple creature. Glancing at Rick who stepped back, careful not to break any dry twigs under his feet, until he was nearly shoulder to shoulder with Shane.

"Should I.." he motioned with his head to the buck. It would be a shame to kill it but the group needed more meat.

Rick hesitated, not in deciding whether or not to shoot the deer because this little outing with the whole reason they were out there in the first first place, but he paused in answering Shane because it would be the first word he had said to him outside of the group.

The deer tore leaves from the nearby bush, chewing the shrubbery before it's long tongue came out, the pointed ears turning left, then right before it looked directly at them and for a moment he thought it would run off but instead it just continued to eat.

"Do it" the confirmation from Rick was soft enough that he nearly missed it and when he looked at the other man he had already turned his attention elsewhere.

Stepping forward Shane cocked the safety back off and raised the gun he had been issued upon being promoted to patrol and emergency dispatch.

"Wait" he paused mid-step, looking down at Carl whose hand was held onto his shirt.

"What?" Carl bit his lip, peeking up at Shane with a shyness he had never seen the normally talkative kid possess before. The youngest Grime shifted his gaze from Shane to his father. "Dad can I?"

"You're not getting a gun" Carl actually rolled his eyes "I don't want a gun dad, but can I touch it before you kill it? Please?"

He turned his blue eyes onto Shane and Shane glumly admitted to himself that the reason he had such a hard time denying the boy anything was because his eyes reminded him of his father's. Not the same intensity and hue but close enough that it always made him uncomfortable to say no to him.

"Please?"

Shane licked his lips, eyes moving from Carl's childlike figure to the adult version who was gaining a healthy shadow on his face, more than the man would ever allow himself to get had they been still in civilized society and not hunting down deer like pioneers.

"What do you think?"

That question could go and mean so many different things and Rick's eyes narrowed just a bit, gaze steady as he stared back at Shane until he felt a shiver run down his spine, and only when Rick seemed to have finished trying to dissect him did he allow Carl to approach the wild animal.

It was like watching Bambi meet the animal version of himself. All coltish limbs and curiosity only a child could have, enough so that it made Shane smile and he automatically like a reflex - because it was a reflex to look at Rick whenever Carl did something amusing.

All of the milestones Shane had been there. From his birth a couple minutes after three in the morning, to his first shaky steps as a baby, first day of kindergarten and middle school; everything. It was a habit that was ingrained in him to make sure Rick was seeing what he was, that he was sharing the moment with his friend.

And though he knew he had no right to say or even think it, Carl was his as much as he was Rick's. Not in the sense of blood but in the sense of he having witnessed the boy being just tiny speck on a black and white image to the boy he was now.

And he was glad when he found Rick turning his head in his direction as well because that meant Rick couldn't shake him so easily either.

This was conflicting.

He wanted to be hated because it was easier but at the same time to be despised by the one person who he actually gave a shit about besides Carl made him hurt on a level not even he could fathom.

Rick's face contorted into a mixture of anger and confusion, his brows furrowing and mouth twisting even if his eyes didn't exude the same anger they held before. Shane didn't move, didn't dare to as Rick opened his mouth and - they both jumped at the sound of the gunshot echoing, the deer falling from the impact and Shane could only take in the image of Carl falling too.

"Carl!"

He didn't know which one of them screamed his name first but between one moment and the next he was grabbing a hold of his gun once more, eyes scanning the area for where the bullet could come from.

"Carl? Oh god no no no, not my boy! Carl!"

Quickly looking behind him he stared at the spreading red on the shirt's surface, the bullet embedded in his abdomen and if this wasn't the most terrifying deja vu he had experienced he didn't know what was.

Months ago that was Rick on the ground and him praying to God who answered his prayers in the most twisted way possible. It was almost like God chose one life over the masses. Only this time there was no hospital with fancy machines and doctors who made a living from cutting open people.

There was no ambulance and EMT on the scene to stop the bleeding and keep his loved one from bleeding out on the ground. There was only him and -

"Are any of you hurt!" Shane whipped around shotgun trained on the figure that came bursting out of the treeline.

"Stop right there! Don't take another step!"

The man was either stupid or just harmless because he dropped his gun immediately hands up above his head as he stared at Carl with horror clear in his eyes.

"No no, d-don't tell me… don't tell me I shot him…"

Shane stormed forward, kicking the hunting rifle away before he slammed the butt of the gun into the man's portly belly making the older man groan and fall to the floor.

"Who the fuck are you huh? Answer me and give me a reason not to kill you right now you fuck!"

"W-w-wait! P-ple-please d-don't shoot! I didn't mean to! I-I w-was aiming at the deer and I didn't see any of you I swear! Please don't kill me!"

Shane looked back at Rick who was pressing his hand against the wound, the entire front of Carl's shirt was already stained with blood and he readjusted his grip on the gun when his hands grew clammy.

"If he dies I'll shoot out your knees and leave you as food for those ugly fucks. Who the fuck are you! I won't ask you again!"

"M-my name is Otis! It's Otis! I work as a farm hand at the Greene farm I swear!"

"A farm?" Shane looked back at Rick, his friend's blue eyes brighter than they usually were due to the tears that were clouding them.

"He asked you a question!"

"Yes, yes! A farm! I'm so sorry… so so sorry I didn't see him… I didn't see him"

Shane glared down at the bulky man who looked more scared than any animal or crook Shane had taken down in his years. Tsking he lowered his weapon and kicked Otis in the leg.

"Lower your hands and get up." Otis did so hesitantly and Shane could see the man's brown eyes already wet, the large man even going so far as to shamelessly wipe away the falling tears.

If he hadn't just shot Carl then he would've felt bad for making the obviously soft man cry but seeing as how the child he watch grow up was currently bleeding out on the ground all he wanted to do was put a bullet in him.

"D-do you have anyone that can help my boy?"

The stammer made Shane want to shoot the fat fuck for causing it but when Otis practically squealed out a yes Rick scooped Carl into his arms, his deputy uniform shirt immediately changing colours.

"We have a doctor, the owner of the farm!"

Shane pushed and shoved the man until he got moving, Rick already a couple feet ahead of them. "Move faster!"

"How far! How far is the farm!?"

"Half mile that way! Keep going straight and ask for Hershel! Hershel Greene! He'll help your boy!"

"Move! Get up and move!" Shane looked up to see Rick sprinting off ahead already, Carl's still body clutched to his chest.

"Fuck!" gripping his hair, the curls longer than they were back at the CDC, his weapon and bag falling to the ground.

"Fuck!" he screamed and Otis whimpered as he wheezed on the ground, Rick's figure getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

Shane wanted to leave the idiot on the ground but he also had to make sure the person responsible came along, just in case they needed leverage to make his people help Carl. Just in case he had to kill someone to make others see sense.

Rick wouldn't like it but Rick always had a bleeding heart when it came to others. Shane on the other hand didn't have any reservations about shooting someone if it meant he was going to stay alive. If it meant his important people could live another day.

Otis was a bargaining chip of needed, until he wasn't.

"Get up, break times over. Move your ass!" Otis took one look at his face and stood up, grabbing his bag and moving in the direction Rick had gone without being told so.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

His heart was thundering in his ears "Move!" and it felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. This type of fear he had only felt a handful of times. Fear of death, once for himself, one for Rick and now for Carl. This fear of death, of hopelessness, of his inability to do shit for the people he cared about twice now.

He didn't like this.

Rick was far enough away that he was barely a speck and he cuffed Otis around his mostly bald head when the man stopped again to catch his breath, wheezing out his apologies that Shane didn't want to hear, didn't care about because if he really wanted to be sorry then he would kneel down and let Shane kill him for what he did.

"You get your fat ass up right now or god so help me I'll splatter your brains out in his field."

The bigger man who Shane knew if he got aggressive and wanted to take him on would give him some serious trouble. Combat training only went so far when the opponent could literally pick you up and throw you.

Otis nodded and started to jog again, his breathing shaky and maybe this was the first real exercise the man had since gym as a kid but all Shane cared about was joining his friend, former friend, whatever the fuck he was now to Rick.

By the time they got within the property line of the farm Rick was stumbling out of the door and Shane ran past Otis, any thought of using the man as clout play gone from his mind.

His sprint slowed down the closer he got until he was walking, a small voice in his head asking him if Rick really needed him right now. If the man really needed the man who was shacking up with his wife to comfort him.

"Is he alive? Is your boy alive?"

Shane watched as Rick's eyes flickered to Otis then back to somewhere past him, his mouth moving but no words escaping, only lifting his hand to wipe away sweat that had gathered on his forehead. Shane's jaw clenched when Carl's blood was smeared on Rick's forehead, any reservations he had disappearing.

Now wasn't the time for their problems, not when Carl needed help and needed them to be grown and not squabbling like children.

"Hey.."

Taking two steps up he reached into his backpack, taking out his scarf and dropping the bag.

"It's okay… it's gonna be okay" Rick finally looked at him and this close Shane could see the man was breaking on the inside, the wetness in his eyes building and what if this was the straw that broke the camel's back? Moving up the final stair Rick stepped back a bit to give him room and Shane did what a proper partner did, he shielded him from Otis.

"Go and tell your man our group is gonna be coming soon" he snapped and Otis didn't even complain instead, running up the stairs and into the house.

"You got blood" never would he ever have thought, have imagined in any of the fucked up nightmares he had that he'd be wiping away his nephew's blood from his best friend's face.

Rick closed his eyes as he held his face, partially to keep Rick steady and to also ground him as he removed the drying red from his face.

He had seen Rick cry twice. Once when his Ma had passed when they were in the middle of their final year at highschool and Rick had stormed off after the funeral, punching the wall behind the cemetery until his fist bled and the anger only melted away and was replaced by the deep rooted grief he felt when Shane stopped him from breaking his hand. Rick had clung to him that evening and Shane let him cry it out under the cover the of a great oak, far enough away from the departing funeral attendees that they couldn't hear him cry.

The other time was when Carl was born and Rick excused himself from the room. He didn't cling to Shane in desperation like he did back when they were seventeen, but he did hug the hell out of him.

"He's… my boy is…" Rick stared at his bloody hands and the stained scarf, hands trembling and Shane grabbed his shoulders when the man swayed where he stand.

"Hey let me take that from you 'kay? Let me just-" he took the bloody material from his friend, tucking it in his back pocket out of sight.

Licking his lips he looked behind them through the windows behind Rick before he grabbed a hold of the former deputy's face, cupping it and holding him tight enough until Rick's baby blues focused on him entirely.

"He'll be okay. Carl will be okay." Shane said that with more confidence than he felt and Rick nodded, his hand gripping Shane's black tee tight enough that the collar tugged sharply around his neck but he didn't care.

"Our boy is a fighter yea? Just like his dad. He'll be okay."

Rick gave him a weak nod "I-I.. I need to go and-"

"Yea. Yea let's go, let's go."

He let his hands drop from Rick's face as the man turned and headed back inside, but he was surprised when Rick's hand moved away from his shirt to grip his arm and Shane could feel the monster that was in him rear its ugly head for the first time since he was a teenager.

It was a stupid move because he was only feeding his own selfish desires but.. it also wasn't about him, it was about Carl and until the boy was back to asking him a million and one questions a minute he would let Rick use him as support.

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 **DH**

 **A/n:** This took waaay too long to be posted, I'm sorry for that. This new year is moving much too quickly for my liking cause seriously how the hell are we in March already?

Shane didn't cut his hair since y'know he's less crazy over the nukes now, so those beautiful tresses have grown out. Just in case anyone was wondering.

As always thank you for the reviews, favs and follows.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n:** I started to watch Marvel's: The Punisher recently and yes I know I'm very very late to the party but I gotta say John is kicking ass in that role. Plot bunnies anyone? As always sorry for any mistakes that you stumble upon, and enjoy reading!

 **Warnings:** A little insight to the 'Male Pregnancy Gene Discovery', a little bit of Shane and a little bit of Harry here and there.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead.**

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" **I know it's not my business, and feel free to believe in God"**

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Chapter Twelve

When the news first broke about pregnant men being held in a secret labs, bodies used, broken and experimented on like rats and guinea pigs the world as a whole was in an uproar when the man who gave the evidence without shame had proclaimed that he was a child of two men.

Conservatives, Liberals, Civil-Rights, hell even PETA all had something to say.

Graphic images of boys as young as twelve with protruding bellies that had nothing to do with starvation or an illness of the body, grown men who by all physique and general image looked as if they were to be some kid's father not _mother_. Their beards scruffy and the ones who weren't blessed with whatever little rags that acted as a screen the media took pictures of the heavy looking pectorals, some of the men hiding embarrassed faces while trying to hide their abnormal chests.

For a long time the talks weren't about trying to help those men, it was about how weird and freakish it all was. The traditionalists wanted to find a way to 'cure them of their ways' and calls of forced abortions, testing and culling was what circulated the newspapers, radio and television.

Some even went as far as to call it the Devil's work, that any child allowed to live would be the anti-christ because of the nature of its conception and that cry rallied many behind its efforts never mind it was obvious that most of the men had been forced to submit to carrying the life inside of them.

Man lying with man was aberrant. Men conceiving, carrying and giving birth to a child was nothing short of satanic.

Soon enough bills were being processed in the supreme court to have any man acknowledged to be able to carry a child to be executed because if they didn't the country would surely be in ruin.

Harry remembered hearing his uncle Vernon ranting about burning them all like Hitler did to the Jews, 'not that he supported the lunatic but wrong was wrong and anything of the sort should be purged from the earth.'

His aunt Petunia had remained silent, only voicing her half-hearted agreements when Vernon turned to her and Harry had wondered back then if the woman who spoke of her hatred for him everyday felt _sorry_ for the men and boys that were being held in a bunker surrounded by armed guards and being poked by the highest ranking doctors of that era.

Just when the country had thought the court would pass the bill to murder the men, because no matter how one looked at it everything being plotted by those who considered the new found discovery to be wicked, they were calling for the deaths of innocents.

Three days before the decision in the high court a lone man, aged in his sixties broke through two battling protesting groups and screamed for someone to listen to him. One lucky reporter who earned herself a promotion for catching the moment he begged anyone to listen to him, begged someone, anyone that would listen to not kill his son.

Apparently he had seen his son's face on the telly when they were filmed being rescued. His son who had gone missing ten years prior as a teenager was now an adult, his once smooth face marred with beard and features scarred with fatigue and fear but he had still recognised him.

Anderson Reiner, the man who released the evidence of the experimentations that his father who was long dead had been subjected to for twelve years was at the forefront of the group protesting for their release, to let go of the men who had suffered in an experiment that was still going on decades after his father escaped. The journal that had belonged to his late father had been so vividly descriptive, pages upon pages of names of people who were killed over the last half a century.

Harry supposed that during his time as an adult in the civilized world, evidence like that would have garnered international efforts to release the men being held like animals but back then it had only been enough to stir the hornet's nest not invoke their wrath fully.

A film found in the old laboratory where the initial crimes had happened was what cemented the judges decision to free the men and boys and to place a bill in place that would protect them against anyone who dared to raise a finger in their direction.

The film had shown in black and white, rooms with rows and rows of beds, some empty but most of them filled, each room was for a specific stage of pregnancy and Harry had remembered his uncle quitting his babbling about 'abominations' when the news showed the bloody beds, broken bodies and dead young men, the oldest being perhaps in his late thirties or early forties. Shallow graves were dug at first until a huge one was introduced and like garbage the video showed the deceased men being rolled and thrown into the ground naked along with their dead offspring.

Whoever was filming the feed had taken personal satisfaction in doing his job, the camera jerking as he walked and took close up recordings of the stiff faced glassy eyed men and the tiny bodies. The journal had spoken of a sick being spread throughout the compound, it was then identified as malaria later on.

Harry was six years old back then, hiding behind the couch farthest from the two adults as he watched the telly and his little heart had gripped with fear, not for himself but for the people on the tv that the pretty reporter had said were all murdered, an excavation of the burial sites was to begin in a month or so and the bodies found would be exhumed, counted, and given proper burial to those that could be identified and those who couldn't be.

Harry supposed what really shook people to the core was that fact the head doctor had delivered to the public, the case of the pregnant men weren't something that happened because of experimentations or freaky anomalies but it seemed as though most if not all males had the genetic ingredients to develop the correct internal reproductive organs for procreation if it was triggered.

A product of biology that was always there but for some reason only now came into play.

His aunt had let out a shuddering scream and his uncle had frozen in place, Dudley was outside with his friends and he supposed the thought of their little Dudders being like the boys on the telly was too much for them to handle in one sitting.

His uncle had switched the tv off and Harry had bolted out the backdoor and picked up the fork just half a minute before his uncle came storming out of the house.

He had been beaten that day for no reason other than a man lashing out in fear of something that was a possibility in the future, and it was perhaps the first and last time his aunt had defended him from her husband.

As child during his younger years the concept of love was foreign, he saw it while watching his neighbors with their children, his cousin with his parents but never once had he received it. His uncle had once told him that he didn't deserve love because he was freakish just like his parents, that mutations like him shouldn't be loved.

Staring at Carl who was swaddled in sheets and blankets to help fight off the fever that was ravaging his body, his mother, father and honorary uncle surrounding him - Harry could deduce even without seeing the scene before him that the youngest Grimes was a well loved child.

Turning away from the room he padded down the hallway and out the door to head back to where the rest of their group was camped.

Hershel Greene was a kind man, or at least kind enough to not turn them away with a dying child and a desperate father. Shane had told them what had happened, though he figured some of it was edited out and while there was a wave of unease and anger directed at Otis it didn't take a genius after observing the man, that Otis was a gentle giant.

That and the continuous blubbering of apologies to not only Rick and Lori but to Shane and the group as a whole.

Hershel had permitted them to stay on his land during and until Carl was healed and could run without the wound giving him trouble but not a moment after. Understandably the man was hesitant about strangers invading his property where he was still protecting his family and under different circumstances Harry would have maybe agreed with his methods because not everyone was a Jacqui or Glenn.

On the other hand he was without a doubt in his final month and just seeing a real bed within the Greene home had him stifling a moan because what he would give to have a single nights sleep in one of the postered, thick mattress covered frames.

Looking around the fenced area that was ideally a great place to set up camp, to build something new; he couldn't help but feel a bit more resentment towards the vet because while they were strangers to one another Harry would bet his pinky that his group was one of the better and nicer ones.

Or in layman's terms - the ones not willing to murder him and his loved ones for some food and shelter.

If they teamed up their group would not only be stronger, they would have a place to finally rest and his kid wouldn't have to be born in a RV or worst, the apocalyptic heathen version of the Virgin Mary edition.

He would have to bring up the suggestion to Rick when the man wasn't falling apart at his son's bedside.

 **.**

 **H.D**

 **.**

Shane grimaced when the needle penetrated his skin, the pointy metal sliding further in until it hit whatever the old man was looking for and he stopped it. Looking as far away as possible from the thing that was in his arm he instead stared out the window at the pretty nice view the bedroom provided with the grassy fields, rustic gate and stallion that was grazing.

Because he could not look at the two people currently wrapped up in each other's arms just opposite him.

It was petty of him he knew to trivialized the situation in which Carl could die to be a part of his broken-not-there-friendship saga. A grown man like himself should not be going through shit like this, should not be trying to repair friendships like he was a kid again.

Granted when he was a kid he didn't have much in terms of actual friends but - looking down at the pale kid who he had watched grow up from a tiny thing to the rambunctious adolescent he was now he decided that he would take a thousand needles if it would get Carl smiling again.

Reaching out he ignored Otis' wife chastisement of not moving while blood was being drawn, his unoccupied hand gently brushing the sweaty bangs from Carl's forehead "You'll be okay buddy, I swear you'll be fine then I'll show you how to hunt for real this time cause your dad is pretty shitty at it if you ask me"

Something like that would normally garner a grin from the kid but seeing him so still and pale made something fierce burn in him. This wasn't right and all he wanted to do was pummel Otis until the overgrown swine couldn't squeal out apologies any longer.

He blinked when the world spun and maybe he shouldn't have moved because fuck, vertigo was never something he liked. Sitting back in the uncomfortable chair he closed his eyes and ignored the feeling of his blood being sucked from his body.

He didn't know how long he remained still but when the needle finally was pulled from his skin he grimaced and tried his hardest to not glare at the woman who was just doing her job. Unwittingly his eyes moved to where the happy couple had been and only found Rick who's too blue eyes were staring straight at him, his hand holding onto Carl's smaller one.

It wasn't often that someone staring made him uncomfortable but Rick's was heavy with an intensity that weighed nearly as much as his guilt did. Swallowing he looked away first, his thumb fiddling with the cotton swab and tape he believed her name was Patricia had placed and his leg bounced on the carpeted hardwood floor.

"Shane?"

Rick's voice was cracking, a rasp in the normal drawl that was only associated with crying and it made him look up all the faster.

"Yea?"

Rick averted his gaze to his bedridden son "What you're doing for Carl… what _I_ can't do for him. I… I know we've got our differences-"

Shane winced because he didn't think infidelity could be classified as 'differences'. Rick snorted and shook his head "Yea..wrong word 'innit?"

Shane shrugged lightly not wanting to speak in case Rick clamped back up again.

"I know that we've got our problems but, what you're doin' for my boy - what you're doin' for Carl… I can't thank you enough, I can't-"

"Hey hey hey, you got no need to thank me, Carl is my honorary nephew, he's _blood_. I'd do it for him and you a thousand times over Rick, you know this" he leaned forward in the chair "Whatever issues you and I have, the problems that I created by being a literal dick can wait until he's better yea? And he will get better, you know that don't you."

It wasn't a question and Shane felt a bit better when Rick smiled, even if it was just a tiny tilt of his lips.

"He will yea. He has to."

Shane nodded and squeezed Rick's hand briefly before letting go of the warm limb. "He will, trust our boy to be an even more stubborn idiot than you are."

He counted it as a win when the smile grew, even if just a tiny bit more.

It was another two hours before he left the Greene house, Rick was passed out hunched over Carl's form after exhaustion had finally taken over and Shane just covered the man with the extra blanket before deciding to get some fresh air.

They had been at the Greene Farm for a little over three days and despite the reason they were there he could say without a doubt that the time spent on the serene farm was maybe the most peace he had known since he saw a doctor devouring a patient all those months ago.

Stretching he groaned when his back popped in several places followed by his neck and legs. Fuck he was getting old. Trudging down the steps and over the land to where the group was set up - Hershel was adamant about not letting any of them inside to sleep and if he wasn't bothered he'd feel like a stray dog.

The camp was mostly quiet with the two Dixon brothers and T-Dog off to search the forest and surrounding areas for little Sophia, the women were with Hershel's own brood around the back last time he heard them and - he had no idea where the Asian boy was.

Which left only Harry who was sipping at what for the first time didn't smell like peppermint.

Shane nodded when the weirdly bright green eyes glanced in his direction and the other man hummed in acknowledgement. Sitting in the chair opposite him, the campfire dead between them with a cold pot of water over it he sighed and leaned back, letting his legs sprawl out in front of him.

"Long day?" he didn't need ears to sense the sarcasm and he rolled his eyes "Is that the only language you speak?"

He watched as Harry smiled behind the cup "Hardly, I'm fluent in Latin and French as well but seeing as how I'm pregnant and can't move five feet without feeling tired now I get a pass. Sarcasm is my last defense I'm afraid."

Shane levelled him with a flat look until the british man smiled and sipped at his tea again.

He continued to watch the younger man under half open lids and he supposed under the sarcasm and penchant for annoying Shane he could see the appeal in him, could see why Dixon had snagged him and virtually connected them for life with the kid.

His brown eyes slipped lower from the annoying face to the frighteningly large belly on such a slim man. It looked as if it was going to pop any minute now and he had the urge to scoot backwards just in case it did like a chestburster from Alien.

Weirdly enough this wasn't the first time he found himself seeking Harry's silent companionship - not in the nasty way of affection but more towards it being the man and despite his troublesome habit of rubbing Shane all the wrong ways, he was a good listener and offered advice well enough.

Not that he would admit that because the idiot might get a fat head bigger than his stomach.

"What's eating at you today."

"Nothing." he grunted and Harry just stared at him, slim shoulder raising in a shrug "Mhm."

"Where's the Asian kid?" he didn't really care but Rick still checked up on the group through him and it would look bad if he didn't have a clue.

"He's Korean and he's chasing the Maggie girl's tail. Smitten apparently. Young love is so sweet."

Shane really did not like the way those eyes flickered up when he mentioned the 'smitten' part. But then again Harry had this tendency of rubbing it in his face that he figured out something about Shane before the man knew himself.

"Asian, Korean, whatever."

"Careful Walsh, you're beginning to sound a bit like Merle."

Shane groaned and covered his face with an arm and the next few minutes passed in relative silence.

After that time in CDC he had reflected on how he behaved in those initial weeks that were spent at the quarry, the downright Weston Walsh things he had said to Harry simply because he was afraid. He didn't know it then but he had time to think and fuck him if he was stupid.

He wasn't a complete asshole and had tried to apologise and all Harry said was "Thanks but ew, your innards are showing Walsh." because he was a little shit.

"Why is it so easy for you and Dixon to be... you know, like that."

"Assuming you don't mean fabulous then you mean gay?"

Shane grunted.

"How do you breathe? Do you have to force yourself to or does it just happen?"

Shane moved his arm a bit and glared at the other man who rolled his eyes "I'm going to start charging you berries or something for this." he muttered even though Shane could hear him clearly due to the quiet.

"To satisfy your in the closet self. I would say that it's so easy being in love and being ourselves because we're all that we knew."

"Hn?"

"I wasn't lying when I said that Daryl was my first friend, but he was also my first everything after that. My first hug, first kiss, first crush and love. He took my virginity and everything."

He was grown enough that he didn't gag at hearing that last bit.

Shane wouldn't had classified himself as a whore when he was younger but back then he had something to prove, not only to his father and the people around him but to himself as well. To make himself forget things he felt and to prove that he wasn't strange.

So he slept with any girl and woman he could get to spread their legs or wrap their lips around his dick because it was the only way for him to substantiate that he was a real man.

"But you don't act gay." the words left him before he could reign them back in and now that he said them out loud he heard just how stupid they sounded and Harry's loud laughter just solidified that fact. Shane could feel his ears burning and he was determined not to let the cackling idiot see them either.

"Wow, you and Merle could be the best of friends. You know he said that very same thing to us when we officially starting dating?" he chuckled a bit more and Shane looked at him from under his arm to see him rub the mound that was carrying a kid.

"Look, I understand that in the caveman era you were raised in homosexuals were stereotyped, still were up until corpses became cannibals but that doesn't mean that we have to live up their expectations. All it means is that I love Daryl who's a man and he loves me, another man."

Harry raised a dark eyebrow "Or should I dress up in drag and do the hula?"

His eyebrows furrowed because that line was vaguely familiar, something he watched with Carl when the little boy was more into nice colourful cartoons than explosions and action figures.

"Shane you don't have to stop being you whenever you decide to stop hiding in closet. You can still cuss and be an arsehole, kick ass and slaughter walkers to your cheerleader's heart content but the moment you let other people determine who you're supposed to be is when you'll stumble and go down a very dark, very horrible road buddy."

He let his arm fall and he sat up a bit straighter "It's not that simple."

Harry snorted "Sure it is. You be you and keep doing what you do and anyone who doesn't like it you can tell them to go and shag a cactus. Nothing hard about it."

That pulled a surprised laugh from him and he stared at Harry with more than a little amusement.

"You don't owe anyone your happiness Shane, but before you have your big fat gay revelation and jump out of the metaphorical closet with rainbow confetti you first gotta confront whatever it is that made you turn into this." he waved his hand in Shane's general direction and he glared at him.

"Why did you wave at _all_ of me?"

Harry smirked "Because _dahling_ you're mess" he snapped his fingers three time and flung his hand to the side making Shane scowl and get up.

"Thanks." he muttered and left to go back inside, leaving a chuckling Harry behind him.

 **.**

 **H.D**

 **.**

"How far along are you?" Harry looked up to stare at the upside down face of the elder Greene sister, this one more serious looking than the other who reminded him of a friend of his from class named Luna.

"Uhh..Maggie right?" he knew it was a name beginning with the letter 'M' at least, but from the small smile on her face he figured he had guessed correctly.

"Yea that's my name and you're…" she trailed off and Harry smiled, holding out his hand when she stepped around to the front of him so he could stop leaning his head back.

"Harry Black-Dixon, pleasure to meet you." Maggie giggled and shook his hand, grip firm in his own.

"So um..how-" her eyes strayed to his belly again and he instinctively touched it, his smile growing wider.

"I'm not too sure on the conception date exactly but I'm guessing I'm in my ninth month now, so not too long before he gets here."

Maggie's eyebrows raised "He? You know the gender already?"

He shook his head "No idea, just feel safer using he, at least that way I would know what to do with a boy. Females are uh trickier." he pouted when Maggie laughed and got comfortable in the chair on the other side of the campfire where Shane had occupied earlier that day.

"We're not too hard to figure out, it's normally when we get a bit older and everything starts to y'know, _flow_."

Harry grimaced "Is it as bad as I hear it is?" he wondered and Maggie nodded solemnly.

"It's different for everyone but most women would probably say that yes it's definitely as horrible as the horror stories you've probably heard."

"Oh sweet Jesus."

"Yupp!" she chirped and looked much too happy about the terror he was feeling. He had heard stories from his female classmates during his years as a student then some during his residency at the hospital and British CDC.

Stories about how sometimes it was so heavy the sanitary napkin couldn't hold all of the blood in or how it would suddenly come during sex. About the cramps and the pain in their vagina and asses as if one spot wasn't enough agony. Several had told him about the diarrhea and vomiting that either came together or not.

Then there was a woman who told him that sometimes she bled for months and really Harry didn't think he could handle a teenage girl or hell a pre-teen with those symptoms. He would gladly look at a brain before he saw his kid in so much pain from a civil war happening in her insides.

"Do you plan to stay here after the birth?" and for a moment he thought she was pulling his tail with the question but seeing the curiosity in her eyes he shrugged.

"That's not exactly up to us." he murmured, head turning towards the house "But I would like to." he rubbed his belly, tapping the place under his naval where he could feel what might have been a fist pushing against the skin.

"I don't think I ever envisioned giving birth on the side of the road or in a RV." he laughed a bit and winced, Maggie perking up when he looked at her.

"Do you want to feel it kicking?" her eyes widened and she rose half-way out of her seat before sitting down again, a torn expression on her features.

"I really shouldn't, it wouldn't be a polite thing to do."

Harry snorted "It's my belly and I'm telling you to touch it. Nothing impolite about it when you're given permission Maggie."

From what he had seen and heard of Hershel the man the man was a devoted christian who brought his daughters up the same way. Committed to the Bible and the deity behind it.

He meant what he had said about not wanting to deliver his baby on either the roadside or a moving vehicle and even if Hershel didn't want their group mixing with his family, the farm was big enough for both groups to live in relative peace. His group would do best in defending since he couldn't exactly see Merle plowing any land.

As much as Hershel was firm in his believe of an invisible man sitting on a throne made out of clouds he was also firm in stating that when Carl was well enough they would all have to leave. Staring at Maggie he smiled and reached out his hand to her, holding it out stretched until she took it and stepped closer.

He could feel the light tremble in her hand, excitement, he concluded and when he pressed her palm where his baby was moving, the tiny fist hitting him from the inside and distending his belly even more she squeaked, a delighted laugh bubbling from her mouth.

For all Hershel was stubborn in his ways his daughters weren't.

"It feels strange doesn't it." Maggie looked up from where she staring, a brilliant smile on her lips.

"It shouldn't feel any different from the animals but it does. It's weird but really beautiful."

Harry didn't know if that was a compliment or not.

"Thanks for not comparing me to a cow I guess." he chuckled when she flushed and focused back on his stomach.

"It's been really long since I last saw someone being pregnant. Longer since I saw a wee baby." she told him and he made a small sound to prove he was listening. "Do you want any kids in the future?"

Maggie smiled, her hand shifting with his baby.

"I've always knew I wanted one eventually, a baby you know, but daddy wants me to be married before I think about anything like that and I agree but - that's gonna be kinda hard now that most of the people are sick."

Harry raised an eyebrow "Sick?"

She mhmed "Daddy says that all of the people who committed sins and consumed the meat of their fellow man were all struck by an illness. God will help them though. He always saves his children."

Harry stared down at her "And you believe that?"

Maggie hesitated, her hand stilling in caressing his stomach "I… I don't know? My step mother and step brother, some of the farm hands were all bitten and Dad was positive that they would return to their normal selves but they never did. He even put th-"

Harry's eyes narrowed a bit when she stopped mid-sentence, her countenance changing to that of more closed off and a fake smile came to her lips.

"Maggie?" he questioned and she stood, dusting off her jean covered knees of the dirt that clung there.

"I'll ask Daddy if you can stay a little while longer after Carl's healed, at least until the baby is delivered. Shane's supposed to go on a run with Otis tomorrow to find the supplies my father needs for the surgery, I'll ask after it's finished."

He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, watching the younger woman walk off if a bit hurriedly. This didn't bode well with him. The last thing they needed was someone who considered the walkers to be still human, to treat them as if they were alive and capable of understanding beyond rabid hunger.

Around the campfire later that night, Jacqui somehow managing to pry Rick from Carl's side so their group was whole once more instead of splintered around the Greene Farm doing god knew what. Looking at the house he could see a single light on in what he knew to be the kitchen but from what he saw the family and friends of the farm were early sleepers and even earlier risers.

Looking at his group from the distraught Carol to the twitchy Merle and less than chipper T-Dog whose arm was wrapped in thick bandages after he had gotten the infected cut fixed. Glenn was on cloud nine with his new romance apparently blossoming and Andrea seemed to be getting her second wind in terms of life.

The topic at hand was searching for Sophia now that they weren't constantly on the move and though the moral of the group was lacking, anyone with eyes could see that many had given up hope that the little girl was even breathing much less waiting to be rescued, but Daryl and Carol seemed to be feeding off of one another.

"I'll go first thing in the mornin', Merle will take the southside that way we can cover more ground."

Harry looked at his brother-in-law and he resisted rolling his eyes at the restlessness that practically covered Merle like a heavy blanket. The man was more like a puppy than a full grown man and since Harry could remember the oldest Dixon always had to be on the move, always had to be doing something because idleness wasn't in his blood.

He covered Daryl's hand with his own that was splayed out over his stomach, their kid down for the night until later.

"No more than two days."

He tilted his head back to look up into the blue eyes, Daryl's squinty gaze pinning him with a nod "Two days." he grunted and Harry looked to Merle who gave him a sarcastic thumbs up.

"There's a creek about two miles to the west that connects with the river back on the highway, I'll follow it tomorrow and see if I can find any tracks."

Carol sniffed, her eyes a perpetual red, the same as her nose and Harry wondered just how much tears a human could shed continuously before they ran dry.

"What about you Shane, when are you leaving?"

Shane reeled back a bit now that he had everyone's attention, shrugging one shoulder he played with the porridge they had all had for dinner, Jacqui boiling the oats they had been given by Otis' wife into something called Oatflakes - a twist her grandmother had often made on oatmeal that was more liquid form than the thick goop he was used to eating. It was strange to drink oatmeal but the flavor was nice with bay leaves, milk and sugar loaned to them by the farm's occupants.

"'Bout the same time I figure, we need to make it to the school and back before nightfall."

Harry knew Shane's opinion on Otis and while there was some resentment among their group for the man's hand in Carl's condition Harry had spoken with the huge man and found him to be more relatable to a gentle giant more than a lazy oaf that Shane thought he was.

"Wouldn't it be better if you three went together?" Glenn was on his third bowl of porridge "I mean… safer in numbers and stuff."

There was a murmur of agreement that rippled through the group and Carol looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

"I think so too. It'd be better if more of you went to the school. You don't even know how bad it is there and you just wanna trust your life with that guy Shane?" Andrea raised her brow at the former policeman.

"Smaller numbers mean we have a better chance of going in undetected. The bigger the number the bigger the risk."

"Yea but-"

"Walsh said he's fine going alone."

Andrea scowled "More man power is better than two people going head-on into the unknown. Seriously, you can't tell me you believe that only he and that blubber are enough to face off a horde if there's any."

"Then you should go."

Andrea paled a little and then her face turned red, her blue eyes glaring at Daryl and from where he was sitting on the lounge chair Harry could feel Daryl's smugness. It wasn't any secret that Andrea couldn't shoot for shit, her aim was more of a comic relief than a threat as Shane had once muttered to himself while in earshot of Harry.

"You know why I can't." she grinded out and Daryl just stared back calmly. "And you know why I'm not."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes "What's one more day? I wanna see Sophia as much as anyone else but we have to focus on the kid that's actually here and not one that might not even-"

"Don't you dare say it!" Andrea flinched when Carol suddenly stood, her eyes were wet but her expression angry. "Don't you dare say my baby might not be alive. Don't you-" her voice cracked and the anger slid off her face with the presence of the tears "My Sophia is _alive_ , I know it, I can feel it so please… please don't say that…"

Andrea visibly swallowed, her head nodding "I'm sorry Carol I..I didn't mean to - I'm sorry."

Carol's head bobbed and she sat back down, the shawl being tugged tighter around her body as Jacqui placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Harry really didn't want to be the bearer of bad news to the already damp atmosphere but he didn't think that something like this should wait.

"We may have a problem."

All eyes turned to him and Daryl's hand tightened around his middle.

"Hershel believes that the infected are more H1N1 virus than walking dead."

There was a silence until Andrea broke it with an impatient "Which means?"

"He believes that the infected are just that. Sick people that need curing instead of reanimated corpses. Maggie said that her father believes God will cure them, that He's testing our faith and when the time is right he'll fix everything."

"But… that's a load of bullshit."

Harry's lips twitched at Glenn's rather out of character language. "Yea it is. Problem is, we can't exactly try to force him to see the truth because we are effectively just guests on his land and without him Carl would be dead by now."

"Then we wait." those were the first words that Rick had spoken for the entire night and Harry stared at his friend who looked more tired and worn down than Carol appeared which was saying a lot.

"We wait until he's fixed my boy, we wait until we have ground to stand on and then we'll talk to him."

It was more like an order than a suggestion, Rick's baby blues burning in the light provided by the campfire.

"And after?" Rick's gaze shifted to him and Harry stared back not minding the intensity of the look.

"We try to make him see the truth."

"And if he doesn't? Men like him don't trust in much beyond their own beliefs, and sure he's a man of medicine but he's also a man of God so what happens if he doesn't believe us and want us off his land."

"What are you saying Harry?"

Everyone's attention was on him "I'm not saying much of anything, I just don't intend on giving birth to my kid in the back of a RV or on the side of the road like the apocalyptic virgin Mary, not when there's a perfectly good farm with more than enough space for both our groups to co-exist peacefully."

"He's helping my little boy, you can't expect us to throw that back in his face if he tells us to leave."

This was also the first time that Lori spoke up for the evening and Harry shrugged.

"And I'm glad he's giving Carl the help that he needs but that doesn't change the fact that I would rather he be convinced us staying here would be beneficial to not only us but his group as well. They're not fighters but our group is. Even if he believes that God will one day wiggled his fingers and bippity boppity boop make everything right and bring back civilization again, he should also see the advantage in having us stay. That's all I'm saying."

"Is it?" Harry leaned back in Daryl's arms and stared back at Carl's mother. "It is."

"One thing at a time then. Tomorrow Shane and Otis will get the medical supplies, Daryl and Merle will search for Sophia and the rest of us will try to make a lasting impression on Hershel because despite not having a real bed to sleep in, I'm growing rather comfortable here."

Jacqui smiled a bit though it was directed at Harry more.

Rick sighed and stood, his bones cracking and something popped audibly enough for everyone to hear "I agree with Jacqui, one thing at a time."

Harry watched as everyone dispersed, Rick practically running back to the house to return back to his son's bedside while Lori followed at a slower pace and the rest retired to their pitched tents and vehicles, Jacqui stopping by to press a kiss to his cheek before she followed Carol into the tent they shared.

Harry let Daryl ease him up and guide him back into the RV, the sheets changed and washed and cool to the touch, just how he liked them.

"You really wanna stay?"

"Yea." Daryl wrapped his arms around Harry, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

"Okay."

 **.**

 **.**

 **A/n:** Sooo I really wanted to post this before the end of the month and yay I accomplished that! High Five for me! ...No? Well I still think it's pretty cool I did it.

Anyway, thanks as always for the reviews, favs and follows because I appreciate every single one of them!

And look at that March is nearly over because of course. It's not like we just celebrated New Years...


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n:** I am so so so sorry for how long this took. I had major writers block and basically gave myself anxienty about thinking of my future which looks bleak. University is like that looming boss level bitch that is just over head but so very very far away because one dumbass enemy sneaks up on you and messes up everything. Long story short I'm freaking out because I don't think I'll get accepted in Uni. Sigh.

Sorry for any mistakes found and once again I apologise for how long this took to post.

 **Warnings:** Talks of religions (kindly don't get offended), medical stuff that may be mostly inaccurate, some Shane, some Otis and some Harry.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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 **"** _ **Wait 'till that boy of yours is up and around, then we'll talk.**_ **"**

— **Otis**

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Religion was one of those topics he didn't dare touch with a ten foot pole least he open up a can of arguments that last eternity, but though he didn't openly protest it didn't mean he agreed or truely understood people's fascination with worshiping spirits.

His aunt and uncle were nearly fanatics, church every sunday, several pictures of Jesus on the walls, his aunt had several cross pendant endowned chains and her habit of making them say grace whenever she could before Vernon grew impatient and began eating was more annoying than his uncle and cousin's loud open mouth chewing.

Hershel was the newest figure of his confusion when it came to religion.

For someone to believe the act of humans being eaten alive, dying, then reanimating was a sign from God was as much of a stretch as the son of God coming back for a second time to save them all.

Cannibalism was one thing. Dead cannibals was a whole other ball game that maybe God himself didnn't anticipate. Then again he was said to know and see everything so maybe he did.

It wasn't to say that Harry was a true disbliever. No no, he believed in a higher power because regardless of him learning science and all the wonders behind it, he still knew that there was a higher power behind everything that occured.

No he wouldn't put a name on it but he did believe to a certain extent, and if 'God' was going to be the title used then sure, why not.

Religion was created to control the masses and Harry personally was as skeptical about the Bible as he was many things. A book that was exchanged between so many hands was no doubt full of inaccurancies and falsehood, and he was positive that perhaps the book had been just a story written by a father for his children that spun out of control. A form of control exploited by those who desired power and a beacon of hope to those who lacked it or had an abundance of it all the same.

He had read history books about the devastations that religion caused, the wars, the genocides, the blood spilt in the name of God by men controlled by other men so maybe he was more than a bit skeptical about the grandeur that was the 'Word of God' that was written by Man.

That and because of the said bible he had received more beatings than he could count because of his 'freakish ways that were abnormal to saintly people'.

Harry smothered the snort that threatened to make itself known as he kept a calm face and half an ear out to Maggie who was talking about one of her father's sermons that he used to preach to the people on the Greene farm and the neighbors who came to hear it.

Harry really didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't care even a little about the wonders of the old and new testament and how both had changed the world, but he did snort and quickly apologised when she gave him a look of irritation.

If this was a _Supernatural_ episode it would've been a plot-twist that revealed Hershel was a demon all along and what they were really hearing was a formula to help Lucifer take over the world.

"Sorry sorry." he murmured, picking up a rotten pea and adding it to the side with the other uneatables that would to the chickens.

Maggie sighed and returned to her own section of grains that she and Jacqui shared between them and under Jacqui's suggestion they both had been rallied into picking the peas and rice like her grandma used to.

Tedious but it had some merit he supposed.

It was quiet for a moment with only Jacqui humming whatever song that came to mind and Harry wondering how it was going Daryl's and Shane's end of separate missions before Maggie sighed loudly enough that the humming stopped and Harry looked up.

"I just don't understand how you can't believe in God." she looked as frustrated as he felt with the topic.

Shrugging he pushed a yellow pea over to the side "I believe there is a higher power that people call God but I just don't believe in the - forgive me Jac' - bullshit that pastors and the like spew."

Jacqui barely twitched since they had already had this very same conversation many months ago but Maggie gasped as if he had just slapped in the face. A verbal slap maybe?

He liked Maggie to some extent, there wasn't much interaction between them beyond that time she had wondered over and asked to touch his stomach.

Her face slowly went from horrified to red and angry, her hand slamming down onto the table and crumbling the small mountain of peas he had going. Glancing at Jacqui who gave him a small shrug Harry resigned himself to the fact he was going to have to give the 'church talk' with someone else again.

He and Jacqui had already had this talk and maybe it was the fact that in another life their souls may have been linked or she was just that awesome of a human being but the woman had accepted his side of things as easily as she accepted everything else about him.

Really, if he wasn't stupidly in love with Daryl he might've switched sides just for her.

"Look Maggie-"

"No! You can't just-just.. _spit_ on someone's religion and discredit everything that they're taught. It doesn't work like that! The knowledge that God is there, that's He's there keeping us safe everyday from the dangers out there should be enough to convince you."

Harry remained quiet as the young woman ranted, his head tilting a bit to the side as she continued.

"He led you all here to my father's farm, he brought Carl to us for him to be saved and you just want me to agree with you that maybe not everything I've seen and witnessed is proof that what? That He's abandoned us? That those sick people aren't really sick but are actually an incurable plague?"

He wanted to correct her so badly and say that it wasn't God that protected them and made sure they remained alive but the efforts of everyone who kept watch of one another's backs, that it was Rick who brought his son to the farm simply because Otis's bullet sliced through the deer. He wanted to agree and say that, yes, God did abandon her because no loving god would make their beloved children suffer with reanimated dead cannibals.

But then again she seemed to have realized it herself whether she knew it or not.

If he took a step back and squinted he would hazzard a guess and say that whatever religious related nonsense she was spewing sounded as if it was being repeated, words from someone else that she perfected over time.

Waiting until she ran out of steam, her chest heaving and her short hair looking frazzled he leaned back in the chair and kept eye contact. He needed her to understand that even though she grew up with people who worshipped a god they could see, that though her father built and lived on faith, that though he raised them to believe it wasn't her duty to force it on others.

"Maggie I'm not telling you to renounce everything that you are, but just don't expect me to fall behind the bandwagon simply because you say so. You have your beliefs and I may not agree with them but I respect them and you should extend the same courtesy towards me."

She didn't look convince and he resisted rolling his eyes. Trying another approach would be best since burning bridges with her wouldn't benefit the plan to remain on the farm.

"I won't apologise for the pastor remark because it is true."

She looked ready to argue but Jacqui reached out and placed her hand over the clenched one on the table making Maggie deflate a bit.

"I grew up in a house hold that preached the virtues of being a christian. They went to church every sunday, my aunt said prayers at the table and I was abused because of their personal principles, because of how they chose to interpret the bible along with the resident preacher."

She gasped and Harry grimaced.

"Look..I'm not trying to draw pity from you but you have to understand Maggie. Not everyone grew up with a loving father and family, had a wonderous childhood and was given something grander than life to place their conviction in. I was beaten, abused and starved."

He gave a bitter short laugh. "And that was still all before my uncle got relocated to Daryl's hometown for a business arrangement. While we were still living in Surrey the preacher told my aunt and uncle that the best way to chase demons from bad behaved children was to beat it out of them, so my uncle did, or at least he tried to best to exorcise non-exsistent evil spirits."

"My only crux of hope was that one day they'd get bored of hurting me and move on. The only person I knew that wouldn't cause me harm was myself and the only god I knew was one that caused me to suffer, but I suppose in someway I got what I wanted. When I was ten they abandoned me, left me in a strange country with nothing but the clothes on my back."

Maggie's face was pale and she looked close to tears but Harry just shrugged, his expression a bit pinched but otherwise somber. Reaching out he took her other hand and squeezed it. Maggie looked between him and Jacqui before her doeful brown eyes settled on him, confusion evident in the sadness mixed with shock.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Why indeed. He tilted his head and shrugged again.

"We may not know each other very well but...in a world where we are so divided I guess I was just hoping for another friend." he grinned, ducking his head a bit as he motioned to Jacqui.

"Neurologists couldn't exactly strike up a conversation without being looked at funny so before this thing started I didn't have many friends. Now I have people like Jacqui and Rick who have my back even when I don't want them too."

He squeezed her hand a bit tighter "To tell them stuff that I can't tell my husband and brother-in-law. Crappy stuff, _dirty_ stuff or just to bitch in general."

He wiggled his eyebrows and she giggled, holding his hand back just as tight. "I know what you mean."

Jacqui raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer and if Harry didn't have an extra human growing in him he would have as well. Maggie looked around before standing and closing the door to the kitchen, taking her chair and wedging it between theirs.

"I can't exactly talk to anyone about these type of things. I mean when I was going to college it was fun but I'm a country girl and city people don't really understand some things and I can't talk to Beth about it either but…" she peaked at them both, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"I've never had sex before." she said in a rush of breath and hunched her shoulders as if she expected to be laughed at. Harry blinked and looked over at Jacqui who had a small smile on her face, her hand coming to rest on Maggie's thigh while Harry's laid on her back.

"Oh sweetheart, that's nothing to be ashamed of." Jacqui murmured and Maggie shook her head.

"I know that but for years I was told to wait until I was a married woman before I had sex with a man and I was fine with that but… things have changed. The world has changed and people aren't really people anymore and I-I-"

Her blush intensified and both Harry and Jacqui smothered their giggles just to spare the girl.

"You like Glenn and want to have sex with him." he finished for her and marvelled when her face got even redder and she squeaked.

"H-h-how do you know that!?"

Jacqui laughed and Harry could spot a glisten of tears at the rim of her eyes but he wasn't any better.

"Oh sugar, Glenn has been singing odes about you for days now. He looks as though he's walking on clouds of happiness and nothing can burst his bubble. Since I've met him I don't think I've ever seen him so happy."

Maggie's face lit up like a christmas tree and she turned to Jacqui, her hands tangling in the hem of her shirt.

"Really? For real?"

"Mhmm… little Glenn is in love or at least something very close to it. If you talk to him I think you'd be really surprised. He's a bit of a geek but so am I. He's also one of the best people you can possibly fall in love with Maggie."

He brushed a lock of that rich brown hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin at your age, and there's nothing wrong with waiting until you find the right person. But if you believe with ever fiber in your body that you want Glenn and you know he feels the same way about you then don't let a little fear stop you."

The oldest Greene daughter licked her lips and nodded. "Okay...okay." she was still blushing but looked a lot better now.

"Feels good to have someone to talk to doesn't it?"

She giggled and nodded. "It does yes, oh God you have no idea how long I've wanted to talk to someone about that. Daddy is always a nice listener but..there's some thing you really can't tell your father about."

Harry like the country slur of her words and he smiled back just as eagerly, making a question sound when she called his name.

"When..um.. When did you first have sex?"

Looking to a painting of a sunflower field on the opposite side of the kitchen he shrugged, a small smile playing on his face. "I was sixteen and it was with Daryl."

He continued when she leaned in a bit closer "He was honestly more scared than I was. He wasn't a virgin but he had this thing about hurting me and every little thing he did he would ask if I was okay. Frankly it was a bit annoying. Sweet but annoying. I wanted his dick and he was more concerned with if my back was alright with his jacket on the ground."

Maggie blushed again and tentatively asked "The ground?"

"Oh yea. We made the beast with two backs in a forest on his jacket and a ratty sheet."

"So he was your first love?"

Harry smiled a bit coyly "He's my first and my last. To be honest if he decided to leave me I would probably pull a Sada Abe on him."

Jacqui snorted and stood from the table to take the sorted grains to the sink to wash. "Honey no."

Harry leaned back in his chair and rubbed his belly "Honey yes. I love him to death do us part and even beyond that but God knows I would."

Maggie raised her hand as if she was in class and Harry murmured an amused "Yes ?"

"Who's Sada Abe?"

"She's a japanese woman who dismembered her lover after he died."

Harry nearly choked on his own spit at the face Maggie pulled and Jacqui leaned on the sink to hold herself up.

 **.**

 **H.D**

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Shane watched as Otis attracted the walkers, the heavy set man climbing from the bleachers and running back into the hallway among the horde. He was crazy, he had told him as much but his reasoning was 'anything to save Carl' and fuck if Shane was going to disagree with that.

Looking through the small window of the gymnasium that Otis couldn't have fit through he squinted to try and see just how far off the ground was because it was one thing to jump but another to break his legs. Grabbing onto the ledge of the window when the bleachers rocked ominously he cursed under his breath at the corpses trying to reach him, a few managing to clamber up onto the benches. Squeezing through the space, the supplies resting on his back he let his legs dangle as hesitated. He didn't want to jump but the choice was taken from him when cold clammy hands grabbed onto his own, broken nails digging into the jacket and his nose wrinkled instinctively at the putrid smell of the decomposing man's breath before he let go and fell.

"Fuck!" he rolled over and muffled his cry of pain, his leg curling closer to his chest as he tenderly touched it and pain laced through his entire leg from just the simple contact. Rolling again when the dead man fell after him, landing on it's head but a moment later it twitched and as if the cracked skull that would have caused brain damage to a human or killed them didn't bother it, Shane's heart raced as it stared straight at him and reached out.

Pushing down the pain he felt in his ankle he scrambled to his feet and away from the man that followed suit and like he was within his very own horror film the dead began to drop from the windows one after the next, each hitting the ground with a sick _thud_ before they stood despite various broken limbs.

This was too much.

Looking around, his gun in hand with a few bullets to spare he pushed away a woman who he guessed had been once a teacher at the highschool, the zombified woman toppling and taken a few other with her. Gasping as a flare of pain raced through his leg he hobbled passed the fallen corpse only to encounter more.

Loud noises attracted the dead like bees to flowers but he didn't have a choice.

Firing off a bullet he moved as quickly as he could in the open space, stepping back and away from the once teenaged girl that lunged at him. Firing another shot Shane kept his hand around the strap of the supplies he carried - Otis having the other half and fuck, this wasn't good because if the man was dead then Shane would have to go and get them him and -

Stepping back he yelped when he was dragged down and only his instincts flaring causing him to lash out and punch the dead in the face saved him from being bitten. Hurrying to his feet he limped as quickly as he could away from the dead mob, his back hitting the cold metal of the yellow school bus that was parked among the rest.

Bullet after bullet went until his gun clicked empty and his blood ran cold because this was it.

Staring at the deformed marred faces of the people who weren't as lucky as him t surive, their flesh hanging from their faces, open wounds showing where they had been bitten and clothes dirty as though they had been playing in the dirt with a stench so terrible he didn't want to breathe in.

Watching as they got closer he thought to himself that maybe this was his punishment. That perhaps God didn't his people but were only culling their numbers to punish them and maybe it was time for him to stand on trial for the things he did and almost would have committed in the name of what he thought was love.

This was his divine penalty.

He was going to die…

The sound of a shot gun frightened him and the cold disgusting smelling blood splattering on his face ironically enough brought him out of his introspection.

"Shane! Open the bus door!" his head snapped up as he heard Otis' voice, the big man shooting and stabbing the accumulated dead as if he was Buffy and it took Shan a moment to realize the dead that had been so close to him had been shot down.

Wiping blood from his face he numbly turned around, hands shaking as he tried to get the doors open, the lock tight and for a long minute he was scared it wouldn't budge until it did and the door swung open with a loud creak. Pushing the supplies inside he hoisted himself up and now that he wasn't staring at his own death in the faces he grimaced at the burning ache that radiated from his lower leg.

He definitely fucked something up in there.

Otis was still fighting his way through the crowd and soon enough his bullets ran dry like Shane's and he only had the machete to use, Shane pulling the bald man up into the bus before pulling the doors shut behind them.

It was quiet inside before the bus rattled as the dead pounded on it from the outside. They wouldn't be able to get in just yet from the height of the bus but they also didn't have long.

Looking at the panting man whose face was cherry red he reached out and clasped his hand with Otis' and what was maybe the first time since meeting the other he was never so happy to have met him. Otis placed the supplies down carefully and leaned back against the cool metal, his brown eyes going over Shane's form as Shane did the same to him.

"I thought you were dead." the farm hand admitted, relief and a bit of shame colouring his features.

Shane snorted at that "Ditto. Glad you aren't though." he admitted and Otis surprise kind of made him feel like a much bigger asshole than he knew he was.

"T-thank you. Same here Shane. Really glad you're okay." the former policeman nodded at him and hissed in pain when he moved to get further away from the door. The noise nor his facial expression went unnoticed by Otis who leaned forward in concern.

"You okay there? Were you-"

Shane glared at him before shaking his head and lifting the leg of his pants "Fucked up my ankle jumping from the window. Landed wrong because one of those dead shits grabbed me. How 'bout you. You okay?"

Otis looked relieved and shifted closer to touch the foot but stopped last minute to ask for permission. Shrugging Shane leaned back against the leather cover of a seat, groaning when Otis lightly touched the discoloured skin.

"I'm alright. It's not broken." he raised the foot and Shane had to bite back a cry of pain "But you most likely sprained it pretty badly." the man finished, lowering his foot back down gently.

"And not to state the obvious here but, you're gonna have a hard time walking on that man. Too much strain to it could only make it work and then you'll be serious trouble and risk it breaking for real or tearing something nasty."

They remained silent as they listened to the dead outside the bus, their groans of hunger sending a shiver up Shane's spine as he remembered what could have happened. He could have either become their meal or turn into one and neither appealed to him.

He didn't know how long they were sitting inside of the bus but he knew they needed to find a way out and leave if they were going to make it back to Carl in time. The only exits were the back, front and the roof and already one of those were too small for Otis to attempt to climb through.

"I'm sorry again, I don't know how many times I gotta say it but I will. I'm really sorry for hurting your boy Shane."

Shane's brown eyes looked back at him, a bitter feeling of resentment crawling into his chest. They were here all because of Otis afterall but - that didn't matter now "I know, and you're righting your wrong so that's all that matters."

Otis shook his head, his face mournful "But your boy is-"

"Is gonna be fine. And he ain't my boy, his Pa is back at the farm with him." he reminded the man but Otis only shook his head.

"I see the way you look at that boy. It reminds me of how I looked at both Maggie and Beth, like they were mines. You love that boy enough to do something like this, and that right there ain't just nothing. He's your boy blood or not."

Shane stared at Otis long and hard before swallowing thickly, his head bobbing in a silent thank-you.

Clearing his throat he dragged his hand through his hair, untangling the curls that had gotten knotted. "We need to find a way out."

"You know 'Tricia and I had always wanted kids but we never got any. But he got to watch those two young girls grow from babies to young women and that's all that matters yea. We never had none of our own but we helped to raise to fine and beautiful young women."

Staring at the man as if he lost his mind Shane repeated what he had said and Otis just smiled as if he had all the answers in the world.

"The hells wrong with you man." looking at the man up and down more slowly this time his eyes caught sight of a growing red patch on the Otis' side and his eyes widened but the stocky man just saved him the trouble and raised his shirt to expose his hairy belly and the vicious bleeding bite on his side.

"Got me when I fell. I didn't see it there on the ground moving, thought it was really dead and the next thing I know it's biting a chunk out of me." he chuckled and lower his shirt.

"I don't even feel it now. Don't know if that's a good thing or not."

Shane remained silent and Otis pointed up to the roof of the bus. "If you get up there you can jump to the next bus and then the next and get away. Your ankle will hurt like a bitch but you'll get back to your boy."

That was the first time he heard the man curse and it would probably be the last.

"And what are you goin' to do man? Die here alone? Come on, we can make it back to the farm together for you to say good bye to your old lady." he didn't know what the hell he was saying but the words were running from his mouth before he could stop them. He should be happy that Otis was about to die somehow because of him all of this mess came into play but… the way he was going to die was one Shane didn't wish on the man that was trying his hardest to rectify what he had done.

Otis smiled at Shane, his dimples making creases in his face as he played with his wedding band that rested on his finger.

"I already said my good-byes to my Pat. Everytime I go out to a hunt or have to leave the farm I always say goodbye like it's the last, just this time it's gonna be true." he hung his head and sniffed wetly, and Shane looked away.

"You know we've been married for nearly thirty years?" he asked when he control of himself again and Shane raised an eyebrow "Yea?"

Otis nodded happily "I was always a big kid, genetics and stuff so I was bullied a lot during primary school by the kids and the teachers sometimes but once I hit highschool I found football. Didn't like it much but it gave me something to do though I avoided hitting anyone too hard."

He rubbed his thumb over the gold band "Even in highschool with me being on the football team I was still the biggest kid and if they ween't afraid of me they laughed at me. I wanted to run away so many times.. To just find somewhere to end it all, to stop the laughing and the critics and cruel words and then I met her."

He was staring at Shane but he had the feeling the man wasn't really seeing him.

"She was so beautiful back then with her curly hair. She was cheerleader but she never laughed like the rest, never called me names and one day she stuck up for me, called out everyone on their crap and grabbed my hand and pulled me along to under the bleachers."

"You get some?" Shane asked and Otis laughed, shaking his head. "If you mean a slap on the arm and verbal abuse sure."

Raising an eyebrow the bigger man elaborated "She hit me for being an idiot. Told me to stand up for myself or people would walk all over me. Told me to stop being a ah- _lady part_ and man up. That I was big enough to throw all of them across the field so I should. She was so angry with me and all I could remember thinking back then was how absolutely beautiful this woman was and that I wanted to date her, marry her and make a life with her."

Otis smiled at the memory "And I did. Asked her out on a date the week after, dated her until we were twenty one and then I proposed to her on her twenty-second birthday. Been married everysince. She's the love of my life, the only woman I ever had and the only one I ever wanted."

Shane felt uncomfortable for some reason only looking back at the bitten man when his name was called.

"When you find that love that makes you heart race, makes your palms sweaty and makes you uncomfortable enough that you feel the need to get away but only want to be closer. When that someone makes you smile even in your darkest days and comforts you without saying anything, shares themselves with you not only physically but mentally as well until you know them inside and out… don't let them go. Hold onto them and love them Shane and do yourself a favor and let them love you too."

He couldn't do anything but nod and Otis paused, eyeing him for a long moment before he nodded him and then stood, hauling Shane up to his feet as well. "I'll push you up and you get away, I'll keep them busy and-"

"Otis, I know we started off wrong but come on man. See your old lady one last time before you decide to go biting the bullet. Tell her all those things you just told me as many times as you can. How can you expect me to go back and tell her I left her husband to die huh?"

"I told you that -"

"And I say so what. She's waiting for you to come home man, don't make me go back to save one life and tell her yours ended."

Otis stared down at him and Shane could see him struggling with the decision until his shoulders sagged. "What do you suggest we do then?"

Shane grinned "Same plan, just when I get far enough I'll distract them and you use that chance to open the busdoors and get out, run around them and meet up with me outside the front gates."

"Fine… fine."

Shane grunted as he pulled himself through the emergency exit of the bus with Otis pushing him from below. Reaching down to grab the supplies he wrapped the straps around his body "See you soon." Otis nodded and Shane climbed to his feet, careful to not make much noise as he crept across the roof.

As soon as he was at the edge Otis pressed the horn and Shane jumped over to the next bus, muffling a howl as he landed on his injured foot and for a minute the wind was knocked out of him and he remained still. He was lucky if he would be able to walk at all after jumping the other two busses. The second bus wasn't any less painful and the third and final one made white spots dance infront of his eyes but he endured if only because he had to get back to Rick, get back to Carl and to get Otis back to his wife so he could say goodbye.

He didn't know where this newfound good will had come from because he knew that before he would have long left the man to die, maybe even shoot him in the leg just to use him as bait because it was either him or Shane but -

"Fuck you shitty green eyes." he groaned and pushed himself up to slid off the front without placing any weight on his injured foot.

"Hey! Hey you ugly fuckers! Over here! Yea I'm talking to you!" he hollered at the top of his lungs and one after the next their heads turned away from the bus.

Digging into his bag that Rick had packed and placed in his arms with food and water for two days he dug around trying to see if he could find anything that would help distract the walkers until his hand touched cold metal and he pulled out Rick's revolver that was loaded.

"What the hell…" he couldn't believe the gun was in there, couldn't believe that Rick had entrusted it to him because since he was given it the man never let another person touch it, not even Carl and definitely not Shane.

He was prepared to make a run for it to give Otis as much time as he needed when the horn on the school bus blared again and the dead he had gotten to turn in his direction focused on the sound once more.

"Otis what are doing! Otis!"

The doors opened and from where he was standing he could see the man hacking away at the reanimated people trying to get to him.

"Otis!"

"Get back to your boy!"

"Otis what the fuck are you doing?! We had a deal!"

"Get back to your boy Shane! My Patricia knows that I love her! Ahh!"

Otis!" he limped forward and then stopped, his body freezing. He couldn't help the man, not now. He watched as Otis hacked away at the dead man until his arm was released.

"Go Shane! Go!"

He should go but his body was frozen. He should go but he couldn't leave the stupidly kind man to die like that, to get eaten alive.

"What are you waiting for?! Go!"

He was going to go. Taking a step forward he raised Rick's beloved Colt Python, the gleaming silver shining even in the dim lighting. He was gonna go, he was going to go back to Carl and get him all healthy and talkative again.

He took the saftey off and took aim just as another dead bit into the man.

He was going to go back to his best friend and see his smiling face when his kid got patched up.

Pulling the trigger he watched as Otis' head flew backwards, his body slumping on the stairs of the bus before it was dragged into the horde of hungry undead. Lowering his hand he took one step backwards and then another until he turned around and tried his best to run with his busted ankle and the weight of the medical supplies dragging him down.

He didn't know how he got back, didn't even realize he was there until he felt familiar hands on his face and an even familiar voice calling his name, then the weight of the supplies were gone and he was surrounded with people asking questions until someone yelled at them to shut up and give him space.

"Shane...hey, buddy, look at me."

His brown met the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen even when they were red rimmed and a bit puffy and he swallowed, his legs giving out under him and Rick holding onto him until he was sitting on the steps of the porch and as if he had stopped breathing he pulled in one deep breath after the next until his head ceased swimming and he felt a bit grounded.

"You with me?" he blinked at Rick and nodded, a jerky motion of his head and Rick smiled, his hands cupping his face and rubbing at the blood that was there.

"Not mines." he managed to croak out and Rick's blue eyes turned darker with worry. "Is it Otis's?"

Shaking his head he groaned and leaned further into the cool touch because fuck everything - he felt as though he was burning up "Walker."

Closing his eyes he could have moaned when a water bottle was pressed to his lips and he gulped down three mouthfuls before it was taken away. "Where's Otis Shane?"

Shane hesitated, licking his dry lips even though he just drank water they still felt dirt dry. "He got bit, hung back to let me escape. I shot him so he wouldn't feel any of it."

He could hear someone let out a wail and Rick's cool hand pet his hair "I tried - I tried Rick, you gotta believe me I-"

"I believe you." who knew those three words could take the breath from his lungs so easily and he let them sink in and surprisingly Rick held him closer, using his scarf to wipe away sweat and the blood. Shane was confused. "Why aren't you with Carl now, why aren't you with your boy?

"I can't be in there. It's a surgery so they gotta keep it sterile." Rick murmured and stood, his hand going under Shane's pit to pull him to his feet and he only remembered his ankle when the weight of his body rested on it and he hissed, knees buckling again at the white hot pain.

"Hey Shane! Hey! What's wrong?" Rick sunk to his knees and pulled up the pants legs, his fingers grazing the flesh and Shane whimpered, grabbing the hand.

"Shhh I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But I need to take a look at it okay? You're not b-"

Shane shook his head "Not bit. Fell from a window wrong and fucked it up. Jumped from busses an' shit an' made it worse." he felt more than heard Rick's sigh of relief. Looking down at his own foot his eyebrows went to his hairline as he stared down at the swollen red, black and purple mess that was his flesh.

"We need to get you fixed up. I don't know how long they're gonna be with Carl but I could-"

"I can take a look at him for you. I may know brains but I learned a thing or two because of Merle and Daryl."

Shane pried his eyelids that had mysteriously shut to glare at Harry, the pregnant man standing between Jacqui and Glenn and the little shit only raised an amused eyebrow.

"What'd I do now?"

Shane couldn't very well answer and say that he 'gave him feelings' because that would just sound stupid so he stopped glaring and let Rick help him up once more, practically carrying him since all of his weight was on the man. Seriously, how the fuck did he get back to the farm?

Rick set him down on the couch and Shane leaned his head back and held his breath when his leg was raised and laid on the plush cushions mostly so the story telling feeling giver wouldn't have to lower himself on the floor.

He heard Dixon's man speaking and then he found Rick's hands on his shoulder and Glenn practically sitting in his lap and looking very uncomfortable doing so, his cheeks darkening.

"Try not to move Shane." he leaned his head back to look up at Rick who stared down, expression a bit sorry.

Wha-FUCK! Jesus Christ!" he jerked back and Rick's hands tightened to still him as Harry pressed his fingers against the very tender flesh.

"Well it's not broken and nothing is torn as far as I can tell without an x-ray, but just to be sure you can't put any weight on it at all. If you want something ask someone to get it for you since you pretty much fucked your ankle to hell and back. Anything more and you could be in some serious trouble here Shane."

He grunted and Rick squeezed his shoulder, a smile dancing on his lips, the first he had seen in days.

"Glenn how about you go and get us some painkillers and see if you can find a compression band and get some ice from the freezer. Perks of having a generator never ceases."

When the ice wrapped in a kitchen towel was pressed against his ankle he didn't even bother to fight the pull of unconsciousness that tugged at him mixed with exhaustion and pain. He just let go.

 **.**

 **H.D**

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"You're worried aren't you." Harry paused in chewing his lip to look at Rick who finally was beginning to seem like his normal self again.

"What gave you that idea?" he murmured, eyes immediately going back to search the wide field of dryin grass for any sign that maybe Daryl and Merle was coming.

"If you chew on your lip anymore it's going to turn bloody and I was informed you didn't eat breakfast."

Harry gave him an annoyed look "What are you my mother?"

Rick quirked a small smile "Too young to have a kid as old as you."

"Har Har." rolling his eyes he focused on staring back at the field but only saw the swaying grass and nothing else.

"Harry…"

"What if they're hurt? Or were captured or got surrounded and can't get out? What if they're dead Rick? What if Daryl's dead and I don't-"

"Hey hey hey, we both know that Daryl would drag himself back on one leg just to get back to you. Nothing happened Harry, they're just a bit late."

"Five days late is not a bit Rick. In england someone being five days late is called missing, I don't know how it works over here in land of the fucking free and zombie infested but five days is _not_ a bit late!"

He grimaced when a flash of pain caught him off guard and he rubbed at his belly, ignoring Rick's worried slash disapproving look he was sending his way. Now that Carl was healing thanks to Otis' sacrifice Rick was no longer the crying mess he had been and was making up for all the lost time in fussying over him and everyone else in the camp in his own way of leadership.

Shane especially was receiving the brunt of it and was bitchier than usual because of his inability to move. Hershel himself confirmed that the ankle wasn't broken just sprained and worn from Shane thinking he was Spiderman. The former cop was determined to do as much as he could himself but found that only have one working leg, the other propped up and compressed made his mobility optional. So he was stuck with asking Rick for help, grudgingly asking for help.

Harry himself was beyond caring if Rick wanted him to take it easy. His husband was missing and he didn't know where the fuck he was.

"Harry so much stress isn't good for the baby."

Harry ignored him, moving from the spot he had been standing in for the longest time even after his feet protested and like an annoying nanny dog Rick followed.

"Harry-"

"Don't you think I know stress isn't good for my baby? Huh? I fucking know that being stressed is the last thing I should be but I can't sit and braid daisies into my hair when Merle and Daryl are missing, when my _husband_ is out there and probably hurt or dead!"

"Harry please calm down I-"

"Fuck you Rick, don't tell me to calm down just because you got your happy ending and Carl's fixed up. Don't you dare tell me to calm down you bloody git because if for one moment you think-"

He gasped his fierce expression twisting into one of pain and he whimpered, both hand wrapped around his middle. Rick instantly grabbed onto him, pulling him back to sit on the porch swing and he could hear the man's voice but soon that was drowned out by his heart beat that thundered in his ears.

It hurt, like fire being lashed across his belly in quick strikes that didn't let up.

It hurt to move and hurt to breathe and Rick's voice was getting smaller and smaller every moment that passed and soon so did the view of the world and he found himself unable to stop from falling.

Waking up he found himself in a comfortable bed and the surrounded by humid heat that was also dry. Taking the wet cloth from his forehead his nose crinkled and sitting up proved to be more labourous than he imagined it would be.

"Suga' how're you feeling?" he blinked slowly at Jacqui who entered the bedroom and he was mildly annoyed that it only took her lightly touching his chest for him to be pushed back down on the fluffed up pillows so he was half sitting and laying.

"Am I sick?" he certainly sounded sick to his own ears and she nodded.

"You've got a fever that's only going to get worse if you don't take it easy darlin'"

"But I can't; Daryl is-"

"Daryl and Merle came back yesterday."

"Y..yesterday?"

Jacqui hummed and pet his hair, pulling the comforter further up on his already overheated body.

"After you collapsed and Hershel took a look at you - which he suggested you not move from the bed unless it's to use the bathroom and even then it's with help, they both came back dirtier than they left."

"Can I go and see them?" she shook her head and Harry scowled, pushing covers off and he really did feel very annoyed at how easy it was for her to rally him back into the bed. It was like his body was pliable to her but resistant to him.

"Harry, Hersehl said not to let you-"

"I want to see them. I need to see Daryl Jac' please."

Her lips pursed and for a moment he thought he won her over but then her resolve hardened she shook her head. "You can't see him because he's still unconscious."

"I-Is he hurt? Jacqui is Daryl hurt?" she eased him back down and he squeezed his eyes shut when his belly throbbed and okay, yea he should definitely stop trying to get up.

"If I tell you what happened will you please stop trying to get up? I swear Harry that you're forgetting right now just how close you are to your due date. Anything could trigger an early birth so for the sake of Christ please stop _moving_."

He blinked and shrunk back into the pillows because if he wasn't mistaken that glare on her lovely face was aimed at him, something that had never happened in the months they were travelling together. Swallowing he nodded, wary now that he knew the woman was vexed.

Sighing she dipped the cloth back into the basin of water that was on the bedside table , wringing it of excess water before placing it on his forehead.

"While you were being tended to by Hershel Merle and Rick brought Daryl in. Somehow along the way of trying to find Sophia he got impaled by one of his arrows and was making his way back to the farm. Andrea was on look out with Dale and from a distance she thought he was a walker."

He was shushed with a finger to his lips. "Rick told her not to shoot because it was just one and he would deal with it when it got closer but she didn't listen and it was only when Rick used the binoculars did he realize it was Daryl but she shot him."

Tears welled up in his eyes and Jacqui rubbed at his cheek "It's okay honey, he's okay. It clipped him on the forehead, a flesh wound. It's the arrow that made Hershel put him under for a while so he could get it out and patch him up. He's going to be okay."

Harry closed his eyes and murmured a thank you to whatever deity that was listening and he could feel pissed off at Andrea later but right now relief was flooding his system and it felt like a block was lifted from his shoulders.

"Now right now I need you to be okay Harry. Daryl's tough but you're the one that has Rick in a mess out there." she leaned closer to his ear and Harry tugged on her arm until she laid in the bed on her side next to him. Whispering Jacqui turned to look at the door "Honestly between the two of us he seems to have more maternal instincts than Lori does."

Harry choked on the laughter that bubbled up and out of his mouth, Jacqui giggling into the pillow.

Placing her hand on the swell that was his belly she rubbed soothing circles on it that made him nearly melt and maybe it was bad to say this but Jacqui gave the best massages even when she wasn't really massaging him.

"Hershel said that the pain you were feeling was maybe because of the stress, he's not sure. But either way he wants you to take it easy from now on. He won't put you on total bed-rest but no stress Harry. If it hurt enough that you passed out it can't be good for either you or baby. Agreed?" her slim eyebrow rose and murmured his compliance.

It was very easy to since he was a bit shaken up by it. That feeling, it had burned and it scared him not because of the prospect that he could have hurt his kid after coming such a long way but the idea of birth being worse than that pain had been made him slightly queasy.

"Is Merle okay?" he felt a bit horrible for not asking about his brother-in-law earlier but the oldest Dixon would forgive him.

Jacqui nodded "Just peachy. Nearly tore Andrea a new one, but Rick talked him down. He's outside as we speak."

"I'm gonna tear her a new one I swear." he muttered and his closest friend who at this point was on equal standing with Rick just smiled and gently rubbed his cheek.

"I'm sure you will but after we've gotten this fever down and you've eaten something to put back on some of the weight you lost in these last couple of days. Hershel says that despite the baby being healthy from what he could gather you're underweight but I told him you always were on the skinny side. Regardless he wants you to try and put on a few more pounds before the baby comes."

His green eyes stared into her chocolate brown ones and he twined their hands together, a pout playing on his lips "Everyone wants to see me fat." he mumbled and maybe he was feeling childish so what.

Giggling she pressed a kiss to his forehead and tucked the warm covers over his rounded belly. "Maybe we just like seeing you that way. More cushing for the pushin'"

 **.**

 **.**

 **A/n:** And so I apologize once more. But really thank you all for still sticking around and not giving up on me, I just get into my own head so much it's hard to come out.

Thank you as always for all the reviews, favorites and follows, I appreciated each and every single one of them. The next chapter may be just as slow as this one but don't give up on me.

Til next time!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/n:** So I got into university! Yay! So very sorry for this very late update, sigh. Forgive any spelling errors found and enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Harry Potter** or **The Walking Dead**.

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" **Uh guys.. So.. the barn is full of walkers"**

 **-Glenn**

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Chapter Fourteen

Not to say that it wasn't entertaining watching Harry spew insults at Andrea in his british lingo that sounded more like something straight off the sci-fi channel but just like the moment when he first saw Mrs. Witacher eating her husband through the window the night he delivered their friday night delight, he figured this was pretty important.

Raising his hand wasn't the way to go since he wasn't in school any longer and the people around him would only give him judgy eyes for it, especially the mean ones like Merle and Shane, maybe even Harry because the man like to tease him.

He couldn't exactly raise his voice either and shout at them because then the mean ones would turn into angry ones and all that anger would be aimed at him. They often reminded him of his mother, always looking at him as if she couldn't believe that he was only a pizza delivery boy after all her effort - because yea mom that degree really would have paid off _now_.

He watched silently as Andrea turned two different shades of red as Harry implied that she was a mess of cat - only less politely, and Andrea looked ready to slap the man if it hadn't been for Daryl standing nearby just watching his husband let out whatever he had pent up.

Jacqui god bless her soul looked just as nervous as he felt and if there was one person who wouldn't judge him it would be her. Maybe if his mother had been more like her then he wouldn't have felt the need to escape his stifling household and just take the easy way out unlike his other siblings who had been a doctor and banker respectively.

Had been.

Most of the others looked just as uncomfortable as Glenn felt watching the scene unfold before their eyes while Merle looked entirely too pleased at it all and Shane just looked bored, because they were both animals was what he secretly thought. Never would he call them that aloud.

He had never really say and thought about it much but his group was really diverse and he wasn't just talking about the ethnic side of things but the personalities.

There was the sweet and soft spoke Carl, sweet and mild manner Jacqui, Harry was somewhere in the middle of the good and bad like a badly wrapped box that contain chaotic energy that mingled with good.

Shaking his head Glenn looked over at the arguing people, Daryl stepping forward and gently pulling the fuming man towards him, head ducking to tell him something that made the steam leave him and Glenn watched as the pregnant man deflated.

Jacqui looked as relieved as Rick was, the man standing off to the side with Shane and though he had looked as if he wanted to intervene he chose not to.

Now that everything was calm again maybe he should tell them now while he could and try salvage whatever relationship he had begun to build with Maggie because the girl had already begged him not to say anything and now - well how the hell was he not supposed to?

Yea sure Mini Glenn was happy as hell because not only had he had sex for the first time in forever, it was with a hot as hell country girl who made his heart beat faster than it took him or her to start calling God's name.

Andrea stomped off and Dale followed because maybe no one but him would follow - Glenn certainly wouldn't since the last time he tried to offer the woman advice she looked at him as though she wanted to stomp on his head until his brain leaked from his eyes.

He shuddered and cleared his throat, fiddling with the hem of his shirt in a nervous tick he had picked up as a kid after piano lessons that made his fingers itch and cramp.

He stood up and was about to voice his thoughts on the barn full of undead that were being fed chickens like the alternative universe of the Last Supper when Andrea stomped back in as angry as she had left.

"You know what? No I'm not sorry for shooting him."

Glenn shrunk back and then stepped back when Harry looked as though he had been slapped physically.

"I saw what I thought was a threat and I took initiative to remove it before it became a problem for us. If he had been a walker then what huh? Would you have preferred I just graze it like I did him?"

Harry was turning an alarming shade of red and for a moment Glenn had a flashback to his childhood during kindergarten where they were seeing 'I'm A Little Teapot'.

 _When the tea is ready hear me shout..._

"Who the fuck do you think are?!"

Glenn had the impression that if Harry hadn't been nine months pregnant and currently being held back by a less than amused Daryl he wasn't above laying a hand on a woman like Andrea. Which was a weird thing to think because Harry was one of the nice guys, the one who looked out for everyone and kept people calm - especially the Dixon brothers and recently Shane.

It was like he was the asshole tamer, or well something less erotic sounding.

"You took initiative to remove the threat? Do you think you're Rambo Barbie? Rick told you to stand down, to wait and not waste a bullet on one dead guy but you wanted to prove you have bigger balls than anyone right?"

Andrea's lips pursed and Dale hovered behind her looking as nervous as any of the sensible people watching.

"I saw a shot and -" the blond woman started and Harry rolled his eyes so hard Glenn was surprised they didn't continue rolling right out of his skull.

"And you took the shot. Amazing shot it was as well." the sarcasm was pliable.

Harry removed himself from Daryl's hold and by now Glenn was fairly certain a brawl was about to happen, not that he wouldn't jump in before it started but Harry looked about two seconds away from decking Andrea and she looked the same.

"Just because you think you have something to prove it doesn't mean you can go around ignoring orders from people who know better. The next time you decide to go rogue and do something as fucking foolish as this ask yourself if by the end of whatever it is you do if I will be as a sloppy shot as you are."

Andrea's eyes narrowed and Dale sputtered, stepping forward "Now wait a minute son, you're not serious are you? She made a simple mistake and I know that he's your husband but threatening the life of a member of the group, it's - it's just _wrong._ "

Harry raised a cool eyebrow and Glenn hoped that one day he could be as fearless as that, just not with the whole carrying a kid thing as a bonus.

"A simple mistake is using expired condoms or missing one day of birth control. A simple mistake does not entail ignoring the order of the man who's in charge of the group! Who specifically told her that he was going to handle it! A simple mistake does not almost lodge a bullet in his head! If she hadn't been such a shitty fucking shot then Daryl would have been dead so don't try to _patronize_ me Dale."

"Harry…" Jacqui gave Daryl a sharp look and the man twitched which under any other circumstance would have made Glenn choke on his spit to conceal his laughter but right now was not the time.

"That still doesn't give you any reason to threaten an-"

Harry tilted his head a bit "You think it's okay that she nearly killed one of us then? That she could do it at anytime again?" his face screwed up as if he smelled something particularly bad and like a balloon being deflated Glenn watched as the man literally decompressed before his eyes.

Leveling Andrea and by acquaintance Dale with a flat look he watched as the man caressed his belly with one hand while the next rubbed at his eyes. "I don't even know why I'm arguing with you two, so just let me make it abundantly clear."

"The next time you have the urge to be Dumb-ass Beatrix Kiddo I'll make sure there isn't a third time."

Glenn flinched and the reaction was mirrored by others as well particularly Rick and Jacqui, one looking surprised at the insinuation and the other just a little grim. He could understand where both were coming from because it was one thing to be bitch slapped by Harry's sarcasm, and be knocked down by cold insults but it was totally another thing to hear the man promise to kill someone.

It wasn't even something he believed Harry was capable of, the brunet always sassy but kind it enough to level out the playing field.

"Harry I don't think-" Rick began but Andrea pushed Dale away to take three steps forward, the man's hand having wrapped around her arm at some point in time in a weak effort to hold her back.

"Are you just going to let him threaten to kill me?!" she snarled and Glenn's eyes shifted between Rick and Daryl because it was as much guess as anyone's who she was talking to.

Rick looked understandably contrite and a bit nervous while Daryl looked - was the man smiling? Glenn squinted at Dixon's face and to his horror he saw a small up-tilt to Daryl's lips. An honest to god smile.

"What the hell…" he mumbled and T-Dog glanced at him for a millisecond before his eyes were glued back to the scene unfolding.

Daryl fucking Dixon was smiling at the prospect of his husband ending Andrea's life and there went his fear meter of the man.

"I don't let him do anything." was all Daryl said, smile disappeared as if it had just been a mirage and Glenn was the crazy one.

Merle snorted, the very first sound the man made since being held back from smacking Andrea or possibly making do on Harry's promise when it had been discovered the supposed 'walker' had been his little brother.

"Not to be a buzz kill." no one missed the emphasis on the last word. "Normally I don't get involved in sissy fights but darlin' don't think I won't kick you right in the pussy if you think you can hit him while he's like that."

A finger was pointed at the space that was currently housing the youngest Dixon and Glenn wondered if when the kid popped out then if it would be okay to hit the green eyed man.

Andrea bristled but didn't say anything and neither did Dale and a weird not really awkward silence fell over the group. Awkward as in the sense that something should have happened because it was just really anti-climatic how the argument ended. Like the universe was waiting for a big boom to make everything feel complete.

Looking at everyone from nice and sweet Jacqui to crazy ass Shane Glenn swallowed spit that had accumulated in his observation of the people in his group before sending a glance to the Greene house where Maggie had gone off to in order to make sure that her father didn't need any help.

Or maybe it was to comfort Otis' wife who was inconsolable after Shane had come back without her husband.

Either way, he didn't think he was about to get any sex for a very long time if at all again.

"Uh guys?" several pairs of eyes turned to him ranging from annoyed to curious and suddenly Glenn just wanted to crawl back to Maggie and take comfort in her arms because how the hell did Harry or Rick do this whole group speech thing.

He had prepared himself to tell the story of how he had come across the barn while omitting anything that could embarrass Maggie but all he found himself being able to thankfully not stutter out was

"So the barn is full of walkers."

The silence only seemed to get heavier and the curious and annoyed faces morphed into a mutual agreement of what the fuck.

"What the fuck did he just say?" and that was the first time Shane had spoken up since they had gathered there, the question being aimed at any and everyone.

Rick shifted away from his friend's side, walking between the previously warring people to make his way over to Glenn who was now the center of attention. Something he really didn't like.

"Glenn…" he turned his gaze up to Rick's blue eyes and the man leveled him with a steely look that told him if he was bullshitting them then there'd be hell to pay. "Did you just say that the barn is full of walkers?"

Or maybe the look was because even Rick doubted what he had just heard. Nodding his head Glenn shrugged a little "I discovered it last night. I was supposed to meet Maggie there but found them instead."

"How many."

He shrugged again "I dunno. Around two dozen maybe, could be less."

"T-that can't be right could it? He would've said something to us by now if it was." it was a first for many people tonight because that was the first thing he had heard Carol say in such a long time, her eyes still red and nose even redder.

His eyes moved to stare at the outline of the barn that was so much closer to their camping spot than he was comfortable with since finding out, and now that everyone knew, he was sure they felt the same way.

"Maybe it was a trick of the light Glenn? I mean Hershel may believe in a higher power but he wouldn't put his daughters in danger like that. I've spoken to him more than once son, he's a good man he really is."

"No one's doubting his kindness Dale." Rick murmured, eyes on the barn and fists clenching and unclenching in alternation.

"Then you also shouldn't doubt his reliability."

"No one is doubting anything Dale but don't you remember what I said about him? He believes that God will cure the walkers if we keep faith. He just thinks they're just a bunch of sick people walking around cannibalizing one another. I guess this is what Maggie was going to say that day she came to speak with me."

"And when was that?" Harry shrugged "A few days before you two went M.I.A and before Shane went to get the medical supplies.

Glenn saw Walsh scowl and if he wanted to get his head bitten off then he'd say the man was pouting.

...Ew.

"So you knew about there being walkers in the barn for almost two weeks and you didn't say anything?!" Andrea glared at Harry and the man just rolled his eyes before sucking his teeth.

"Calm down Misa." Glenn snorted to cover his laugh and though he was very sure Andrea didn't know who Misa was by now everyone knew it was either an insult or a compliment to be used in one of his references.

"I said what she _was_ going to say, meaning she didn't. I only just put it together just now but if Hershel really is capturing and keeping walkers in the barn while he hopes for a grand revelation from the big man in space then sooner or later something is going to go wrong."

Daryl looked more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of a horde of walkers being anywhere near his husband and Glenn could relate because not only had they all been sleeping well within mauling distance, they had become complacent in the face of having somewhere to rest with actual hot meals and clean water that wasn't foraged from an abandoned minivan.

"And as I've stated before, I really don't have any intentions of leaving this place, not when both our groups can live in harmony here. Carl can be safe and be a kid again" Rick couldn't hide how good that sounded. "We can continue to search for Sophia with this as the HQ." Carol nodded as her eyes became teary again "Glenn can try to continue to romance Ms. Greene." Glenn blushed because was he really that obvious?

"And the rest of us deserve somewhere to call home. We can build a defense here, grow crops, probably find a couple of animals. We can be happy here."

Glenn wasn't much for killing, mauling, murder or even low level mayhem but he was all for staying on the farm and trying to return to some sort of semblance of normality. Maybe they would never return to how they were, happy and go-lucky thinking that the world was going to end from global warming some time in the distant future, but at least this way they wouldn't be sitting ducks and worried about if they would starve to death first or die of dehydration before a walker got them.

This way they could live, really live and maybe in time Hershel would grow to tolerate them, hell Glenn would help the old man build a wall between their groups if it got them permission or whatever version of allowance that Harry was thinking of.

He was tired if running, of looking over his shoulder, of fighting fucking zombies that should have remained in the movies and comic books. He wanted a real bed and to just - to just relax without a fear he would die tomorrow from his throat being bitten out.

He wasn't exactly sure what Harry was proposing and a part of him didn't want to know because then it would be plausible deniability but if it got them to stay then he was all for it.

"I'm in." he was once the center of attention again and he shrunk back a little. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, head tilting slightly to the side.

"What are you in Garth?" he used the nickname and Glenn just rolled his eyes. "I'm in for staying on the farm, whatever it takes."

Because at this point killing a bunch of well fed walkers was better than running into town for Lori's pregnancy tests and pills while they waited to be kicked out. It got him laid once and nearly killed the second time. He wasn't about to challenge the 'three times a charm' thing.

 **.**

 **H.D**

 **.**

Running her hand over Carl's hair she smiled down at her son as he slept, the surgery was a success and Hershel said that as long as there wasn't any infection then he would be just fine. She had thanked God and him the moment she had heard those words because what mother wanted to hear that their child was going to die?

When she first found out he been shot so many emotions had coursed through her body but fear had been the most prominent. It was the fear of knowing that she might never see her child smile again, never here him ask so many questions a mile a minute, never hear him call her mom.

He had grown so quickly it just seemed like yesterday she had held him in her arms for the very first time, all pink and gooey with blood while he screamed his little heart out for everyone in the room to know that he was there, that he was alive.

Rick had been so happy that day to hold his son, his first child. They had been so happy back then, all in love and cherishing one another. The vows they had made still rung true despite how blemishes had bee thrown on them but she would make everything right again because even if she was only half of the problem, she could own up to her mistakes.

Pressing a kiss to Carl's head she stood from the chair and wandered through the house, old wood creaking every now and then but apart from Hershel who was in his study last she was told the Greene home was empty. Moving over to the window Lori looked out into the night, everything dark out save for the lights on the porch and the fire that bloomed outside at the campsite, the bodies of the members of the group that sat around it. She could pick out Rick's form immediately and from the looks of it he was talking to Glenn. Squinting her eyes as if that would be able to help her ear anything but crickets.

Rick was her one and true love, the man who swept her off her feet when they were several years younger and still believed that they could conquer the world.

His smile and charm had enamored her parents in quick succession and frankly if she had said no when he had asked her to marry him, then she would have been an idiot. Blissful years of happiness that was elevated by Carl's presence from the moment he was born, to his first babble and steps, to him clearly calling Rick Dah-dah and then months later her Maa-Maa.

Rick had always been there for her, had always been the one to hold her and comfort her and yes she made a few mistakes - Shane being one of them, but it was all going to change.

She would make sure it did.

Her husband was angry that much she knew because it didn't take a genius to notice the tension that went on between the three. What she and Shane had done had been a horrible horrible mistake that he had exploited out of her during her time of grief and while she knew that she was also to blame Shane was the one who had played on her feelings.

Had told her how much he loved her, had used the moment of vulnerability of her husband's apparent death to slide himself in the spot that Rick had vacated. During those few months where it had just been her and him had been great, she wouldn't lie and deny it. The sex had been amazing and he was amazing with Carl as always but he wasn't Rick. Could never be Rick no matter how much he tried and longed for it.

Her eyes caught the man in thought who was sitting in a chair, leg propped up. Since returning from the high-school he hadn't said a word to her, never looked in her direction and always made sure they weren't alone. If she didn't know any better she'd think he was avoiding her, and maybe he was since their last talk on the highway had been particularly harsh but that hadn't been her fault. Shane had become inconsiderate and thus she had to show her cards.

Despite her threat he had stayed away as if that night had never happened, as if she hadn't dared to expose him to the one person's whose opinion he cared about. Tsking her nail broke under her teeth as she chewed at it. Since that day he had brought back the supplies for Carl; Rick had stuck close to his former partner. Had helped him ice his ankle and was practically his crutch which wouldn't do, she wouldn't allow it. No way in hell was he allowed to form back any pretense of a friendship - of a relationship with Rick when her own husband wouldn't even touch her. Couldn't look at her without a shimmer of disgust and disappointment in his eyes.

Her brown eyes returned to Rick's form as he spoke to the group, a pool of heat settling in her belly that quickly disappeared. He hadn't come outright and said that he knew but she knew that he did, the fact of it was weighing on their marriage. A secret that was no longer a secret but would remain on until it was spoken of.

Moving her gaze to Shane again who was watching Rick steady enough as if he was planning entrap the former deputy. Without notice her expression shifted, lips curling into a sneer.

Shane's daddy had been a real piece of work like many in his generation and many a time while they were courting Rick had told her in confidence because she was his and he was hers of how Senior Walsh would smack around his son and wife. How after a while it was only Shane who was being beaten. Everything had just escalated when the announcement had come over the tv about the supposed 'bitch boys' and while back then after meeting Shane she had felt sorry for him over time she could see why his father took it as a personal offense.

Others might not have seen it because the two had always been close like brothers but as someone who had been in love with Rick she had gained a certain eye for those who were lusting after her man and Shane had been the primary one at the forefront.

Her eyes had always caught the small gestures and touches he had laid on Rick, how he would laugh at the stupidest things and blush when Rick complimented him or touched him in return and back then it was like watching a comedy because overtime she realized that he probably didn't even know it himself.

It stopped being funny however when she noticed small changes in Rick and bit by bit she could feel him pull away from her and gravitate further towards Shane. The comedy had turned into a sick horror movie and she was the foolish girl who was left behind as a sacrifice to the big bad.

So she had done what she had to do to ensure her future with a stand up guy, with a man who was going to go places and provide the life for her that her mother had always drummed into her head. So it was hardly her fault that Senior Walsh had gone a bit overboard and placed his son in the ICU. She had been shocked when she saw Shane laying in the hospital bed after Rick had cancelled their date and rushed over. Hooked up to breathing tubes, a leg and arm each in a cast and his face looking as though someone had taken purple, red and black paint to it.

She had been shocked but not sorry because after that the heated gazes diminished to nothing and any building feelings were never shown on the surface. They were truly just friends now and Rick had been just hers and hers alone.

It was only after they had been deputies for close to a decade did she see the appeal in Shane. His physique was bigger than Rick's in some ways and his way of looking at situations though grim was perhaps the realest anyone would ever dare to go. Rick was a pacifist who loved to seek out actions that didn't involve bloodshed but Shane had always been the opposite - or maybe that was because if he had spent less time trying to convince his father not to kill him and more time fighting back he might've never ended up the way he had.

So in a way the guarded, cagey and action doer side of Shane was because of her and the moment she noticed the difference between the two friends it was as if a fire had been lit inside of her. She had wanted them both just as they had wanted one another even if they hadn't realized it back then.

But now all she wanted was Rick and him alone.

Closing the curtains Lori turned away from the window and away from the image outside as her husband went to sit beside the temporarily crippled man. Walking back down the hallway she returned to her seat beside Carl's bedside and listened to him breathe without wheezing.

She squeezed his hand and pressed a kiss to the warm limb that was no longer cold and clammy. Kissing him on his forehead Lori smiled down at her first born and precious child. The child that she had made with Rick and loved unconditionally, her hand moving to rub at her stomach that was flat now but within a few months would swell and make it obvious as to what she was carrying.

And when Rick came in to check on Carl she gave him a few minutes to coo 'I love you's' to their child before dragging him off to a bedroom further down the hall. She didn't give him the luxury of saying no and his body responded to her touches like a starving man to food, and as she rode him she thought of the life they would have with one another when they rebuilt their relationship.

When he came inside of her with his blue eyes squeezed shut and body shuddering as she continued to move until he softened she smiled down at him as she saw their marriage becoming stronger in the coming months, because Rick could be as angry as he wanted with her but he would never deny a child he believed to be his own.

 **.**

 **H.D**

 **.**

Harry stretched out on the bed that Hershel had lent him for the duration of his pregnancy which frankly wasn't going to be very much longer at the rate he was going, but regardless if it was just something he was borrowing or not the sheets and actual fucking mattress felt wonderful under his tired body.

Rick had promised that he would talk to Hershel come morning about their groups joining up into one or just sharing the farm. The elder Greene was a reasonable man but Harry could also see that he was plenty stubborn and set in his ways. Practice that didn't exactly allow new and unconventional but factual changes to his flow of things.

"Someone's squeaky clean." he closed his eyes when Daryl climbed onto the bed, the vet allowing him to stay inside as well - which made it sound as though he was a dog and it made Harry snort - after they had showed him their wedding bands. Daryl hitched up the shirt he was wearing to expose the expanse of skin that was pulled tight like a rubber band that was a few seconds from snapping.

With a bit of water still dripping from his nape Daryl pressed a soft kiss under his naval followed by a swipe of his tongue that had Harry moaning just a bit. Turning his head to the side so he could see his husband somewhat because trying to look over the mountain that was his belly was a mission impossible.

Daryl continued to pepper his belly with soft but firm presses of his lips, the baby responding with tiny kicks which meant it was close to being asleep. Daryl moved up slowly but surely after showering the place that housed his child he shifted until his warm breath was blowing on Harry's much too sensitive nipples.

Narrowing his eyes on the man he reached up to caress the stubbled jawline, baby blues closing and his head leaning into Harry's palm for as long as it took for Harry's arm to get tired.

Harry hissed when his nipple was enveloped gently, a warm and wet tongue circling it in order to help soothe some of the hyper stimuli that was now his chest. Initially he had been embarrassed to show the man even if there weren't any too obvious changes to his chest but for Daryl who had explored his body several hundred times in the years they known one another he was bound to know.

It was just a slight barely there swell that came in after the first time he had stained a shirt due to them leaking, only seen from an angle and only if he squinted. Most of the mammary expansion was under the skin unlike a woman's and whatever god there was was he happy about that.

"Mhmm!" it was a knee jerk reaction that Daryl was used to because he held down Harry's leg moments before sucking on it and holy shit the pleasure since they discovered it never ceased to knock the wind out of him.

"Daryl Anthony Dixon if you're not careful I'll make you put that mouth to real use." he warned because though he couldn't see his dick he could certainly feel it.

Daryl gave him a rare wolfish grin, his blue eyes nearly smothering Harry in the process. "I intend to."

The next instance Harry had any recognition of space and time was the following morning when he had to do the impossible and roll off the bed before shuffling to the bathroom because his kid was an asshole that didn't know the concept of letting his daddy sleep. Crap if he didn't love him already.

The situation was Hershel would no doubt be tricky but between Rick's everlasting patience and with a little prodding Maggie's insistence he was sure they could convince the old veterinarian to stay. Stopping by the big bay window that overlooked the field where a stallion was grazing, he watched as the sun peaked above the trees in a spectacular painting of gold and bloody red intermingled with pink and purples and that was something he could get used to seeing from the house.

"Beautiful ain't it."

Harry jumped a bit and while he wasn't embarrassed about nudity it felt a bit disrespectful to the owner of the house when he was standing half naked with hickies all over his chest and belly. "Uh..y-yea. It is."

Hershel hummed and gave him a long look that was backed up by years of fatherhood and humility but didn't say a word towards his state of undress and the obvious marks on his body. "My wife used to love standing here to watch it. Would try to wake the girls to watch it with her, I was already taking care of the animals by that time but sometimes I spared a few minutes to stare at it with her."

He didn't know what to say so he just stayed silent and listened to the man reminisce about his wife, be it the first or second Harry didn't know nor was he going to ask. This was perhaps the longest conversation he and Hershel had since they met and now it was just on the end of one sided.

"God's creation at its finest. The power to create something so beautiful and complex. Do you believe in God son?"

The question caught him off guard and he contemplated whether or not to be as blunt as he had been with Maggie or to just outright lie, but then he'd be lying to himself.

"I believe there's a greater power yes. Something that no one can explain and probably will never be able to."

Hershel looked vaguely amused though there was a downward tilt to his mouth. "An atheist then."

Harry shrugged one shoulder and kept his eyes on the unfolding sunrise "I prefer to say I'm a free thinker. I believe in certain things but without much proof I won't in others. I believe that all of this -" he motioned to the out and then between them both "Didn't just happen on a whim, that it took time and something beyond our comprehension and people call that 'something' God."

Hershel leaned against the wall eyes fixed on him with enough intensity it made him squirm a bit on the inside.

"And you don't agree with what the name God stands for."

Harry rolled his eyes "I don't believe in what people make God stand for. It's two sides of a coin for most people who practice religion. Murder, genocide, rape, hate and discrimination on one side, then there's faith, good will, humanity and hope. People chose to ignore one half in favor of the other when it suits them but will rain holy hell upon others at the flick of a switch. Humans are fickle and greedy as much as they are intelligent and kind."

"Then you believe in science. In cells splitting and multiplying to create an organism."

Harry hummed "Science proves many things but it can't prove everything. What about you, aren't you a man of science as well?"

"I'm also a man of religion, of God."

"You can be both, even if many a couple of months ago would have disagreed. But as a man of science, as someone who has studied the body even if it's just that of an animal, what's happening out there what do you think it is?"

Hershel remained silent for a long time, blue eyes wandering back to the almost blinding morning sun and Harry was glad when the old man didn't feign ignorance.

"This... plague is what wipes the slate clean. Just as God back in the biblical times sent the great flood he's sent this thing. But just as he didn't abandon his children back then he won't now either."

"You mean he'll cure them and return everything to normal."

"Yes I do."

He could hear Maggie somewhere deeper in the house tell Beth to get up and Hershel smiled with the affection that only a father could possess, he'd seen it on Rick several times and maybe it was a long shot but he knew Daryl would be one of those sappy father's especially if their spawn was a girl.

"But wouldn't curing all those he deemed to punish make all of this a moot point? Why return the damned? If it's to purge the world of the evil - those he saw fit to be burdened by the virus then why would he heal them?"

"My god is a merciful god. He seeks to punish not destroy."

Harry stomped down the urge to point out to the man that God did have a trigger finger for destruction or so the bible said "And what is the scientific part of you screaming."

Hershel glanced at him from the corner of his eye, the downward tilt of his mouth even more severe than it had been earlier. "Where are you going with this son."

Harry shrugged one shoulder "I just want both sides of your opinion. The religious one and the scientific one."

"Science holds no precedence over God."

"Willful ignorance is effective enough to make any wise man foolish. You know that these things aren't an act of god, and even if it were, even if God sought to punish us he wouldn't return them all to state of humanity as if it's Beauty and the Beast. This virus turns humans into mindless creatures whose only aim is to devour everything with a heartbeat. God isn't going to help us Hershel."

"Don't be so confident in what you haven't a clue about boy."

Ah so he graduated from son to boy. Yippee.

"How many times have you prayed since this began? Begged God to reverse whatever curse he placed on your friends, on your family? And were they answered, did a light shine down from the heavens and transformed them back in the people you once knew?"

He knew he was pushing the man a bit too far and part of him was so very tempted to ask about the barn full of walkers but that might just backfire on him and the group. Hershel's jaw was clenched hard enough Harry was surprised he didn't hear a tooth crack and it was right there that he saw a man who was drowning in as much sorry as anger.

The eyes were the gateway to the soul, and Hershel's soul was very very conflicted. For a man that was so devoted to his religion he also could not deny the clear facts that science provided and Harry was sure having him rub it in his face wasn't helping. Biting his bottom lip he stepped back and lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry, that was rude me of Hershel." he murmured and there was a tense silence before a heavy hand fell to his shoulder.

"It's fine."

It very obviously wasn't, but Harry just gave Hershel a tired smile and the older man excused himself leaving Harry to watch his back retreat.

"You just had'ta do it didn't you…" Daryl's rough sleep worn voice asked and Harry smiled despite the reprimand he was given, accepting the kiss to his neck and holding the arms that circled around his waist.

Shrugging he let himself be led to the kitchen where Jacqui and Carol were helping the Greene sisters start breakfast for the group. He refused to feel guilty for nudging Hershel a bit in the direction he wanted, maybe there would be a few setbacks with how stubborn the old man was but he was dead serious when he said he wouldn't leave the farm.

Smiling at the women when Daryl all but magnetized his butt to the chair he took the offered cup of tea.

"How did everyone sleep?"

Carol gave a tiny shrug her eyes still puffy and red along with her nose and she looked even more tired than she had when Ed had been alive.

Maggie blushed a deep red and turned away to crack a few dozen eggs while her younger sister gave a breathy 'just fine' while Jacqui's stare towards him made him squirm.

She kept her voice low, mindful that Hershel could still be nearby "I can see that Maggie wasn't the only one enjoying a night in the metaphorical haystack." the oldest Greene sister coughed and Harry laughed, not even a little bothered at being caught, even if he was wearing a shirt that Daryl brought for him.

"I'll have you know my night was wonderful Jac'" all the women eyed Daryl who just stared back and knowing the man he had tuned them out and was unconcerned as he was ignorant to the conversation at hand.

Pecking Harry on the head he exited the kitchen and the creak of the back door signaled he had left and there was a silence before Jacqui paused in peeling the potatoes "Is he big?"

Carol made a sound like a tea kettle whistling and Maggie dropped an entire egg in the bowl of yolks and whites while Beth just intensely interested. Sipping his tea he couldn't help but blush a bit at the nostalgia from last night and with a Cheshire grin "He's certainly better than the jack rabbit."

Carol's face lit up in embarrassment even as she laughed with the rest of them, the conversation from the Quarry coming back to mind.

Harry stopped laughing long enough to raise a brow at the timid Beth who like her sister raised her hand as if this was a classroom and not a kitchen full of perverted people.

"Yes Beth?"

The girl looked unsure through the platinum blond locks that fell from her high ponytail, blue eyes darting between each woman and then back to him.

"W-what's a jack rabbit?"

"B-Beth!"

"Oh dear Lord…"

"How old are you Beth?" his question made the blond flush a bit and she stuttered out something that was too soft to hear even in the quiet kitchen.

"Come again sweet heart?" Jacqui asked and the girl ducked her head. "S-Sixteen…"

"Ah." there was another silence as if they were deciding who would tell the girl that they were talking about a battery operated sex toy. "Big sister?" Maggie glared at him and Harry grinned back because really, this was priceless.

Placing his empty cup down he rubbed his warm belly where his thankfully lazy spawn was still sleeping.

"We are not talking about the hare, just to be clear and since you won't learn about it in sex ed well I'll help. This jack rabbit is a sex toy, comes in an array of colours and if I had used it that night then I wouldn't be like this." he pointed to his round stomach and while Beth looked transfixed she giggled.

"Maggie had sex in the haystack behind the chicken coop." the youngest amongst them revealed at her sister's expense and another roar of laughter erupted while Maggie's face nearly matched her blouse perfectly.

Later on that day he found himself lazing by the campsite, a cold drink of lemonade and Jesus on a cracker did it taste fucking delicious, then just like deja vu Shane came to him again this time hobbling like the old grumpy bastard he was.

He didn't bother hiding his smile and the man didn't bother to not flip him off as he dropped heavily down in the chair opposite the fire pit, foot still bandaged but at least his toes weren't turning purple from the extensive bruising anymore and he could move with the help of the crutches from Hershel. There was a long silence between them, the only sounds coming from the farm animals and any other muted noise from the group that was spread out around the land.

He sipped his lemonade fully intending on savoring the cold sweet drink for as long as possible while his spawn kicked around his belly. The quiet remained and Shane was looking anywhere but at him, face not grumpy for once but relaxed even if his shoulders weren't. Harry could wait him out if he wanted to talk or not, because no matter how civil they had become they weren't by any stretch friends, at the very least they were amicable associates.

More minutes ticked by until a soft nearly lost in translation "How are… things." was said and it wasn't hard to guess that the strange sounding question that wasn't a question was directed at him.

"Things?" he ventured and Shane scowled. "Yea. Things."

Harry smiled "I thought that through our sessions you had learned the basics of the english language Shane. _Thangs_ and stuff aren't really a road-map to what you're asking y'know." it was a jab at Rick even if the man wasn't there but Shane snorted nonetheless because this was where their common ground began, at Rick.

Fingers parted and pulled at a few knots in his curly hair and Shane licked his lips, brown eyes darting to the side then directly at him, his hand motioning at Harry's general person.

"How are you and the baby doing." that short sentence sounded as though it took breath, lungs and liver from the man and Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"Did your foot develop sepsis or something? Am I a part of a hallucination?" he chuckled and Shane's glare of doom just intensified "...or maybe not. You really want to know how I'm doing?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't interested." Shane's jaw was clenched tight and Harry in a fit of insanity wanted to pinch his cheeks, why not, the sky was apparently falling already. Humoring him Harry shrugged.

"My feet are killing me, my belly is sore, my shoulders hurt, my lower back is fucking murdering me and don't get me started about my ass. Daryl's dick is -"

"What the fuck Dixon?" scandalously horrified was the correct expression on the former deputy's face and Harry laughed because what else was he to do, apologize?

"You can't blame me Walsh. I treasure these little talks about your morality and god forbid, _emotions_ , because we don't bull shit around one another. Can you really truly blame me for throwing that at you when you asked about my well being? Really?"

Shane's scowl deepened. "I was being serious you little british bastard."

That made Harry pause in his jeering, all joking aside he nodded "I'm okay. Ready to get this kid out of me to be honest. I wasn't lying when I said my back - well basically all over hurts. Even my chest for fucks sake."

Shrugging he brushed hair from his vision "But I'm alive and having great sex so can I really complain?"

Shane grunted and Harry smiled letting the silence be for just a short moment "And you Shane?" the man raised an eyebrow at him apparently confused by the question. Rolling his eyes he waved a hand towards the crutch adorned man "How're you? Swear no one has ever asked you that question before."

"I'm fine."

Humming he rubbed to the side of his belly where he was being poked "That's good." he continued to sip his lemonade and not for the first time he was grateful towards Jacqui for just simply existing. Pushing Shane towards what he wanted to talk about would just make the man clamp up and delay the conversation so he was content in just waiting it out.

Not like he had anywhere to go.

"You ever felt like you were dangling at the edge of a cliff and you were being saved but - but you wanted them to let you go? 'Cause even though they forgave you there's something holding me back that's really fucking terrifying… that changed everything and to touch that shit would mean exposing myself and … I can't do that."

He purposely ignored the change in pronouns even if Shane hadn't realized.

It was obvious to anyone who just listened that there deeper stuff laid between the two, that it rooted before even the whole Lori debacle and maybe whatever the issue had been, still _is_ , plagued them, especially Shane.

He wanted to know yet at the same time he would rather not because he certainly wouldn't appreciate anyone digging into his and Daryl's past. As much as what Shane has said was a topic that the man would need to talk about at some point, most definitely with Rick, it wasn't what he wanted to ask Harry.

So the conversation paused once again and Harry finished his drink unfortunately, Shane's gaze staring off to the side but it was clear he was far from the farm.

"How do you get the courage to do the impossible."

"Lots of things in my life could be labelled as 'impossible' Shane."

Harry was used to Shane being a confused mess about his own emotions but the fear in the man's brown eyes took him by surprise. The hunch in his shoulders, posture small and Harry was blown away on the grounds that while he knew Shane was human he just didn't think the man was capable of expressing fear.

No that wasn't right.

He didn't think Shane could show vulnerability to someone like him.

"What if this something could tear you apart from the inside, could permanently destroy your relationship with this person. How would you.. go bout doing something like that?"

Harry was silent as he took the question into consideration, took who was asking such a question and a way to answer it without sounding like a limp dick.

"What if this thing could instead fix everything wrong with your relationship with this person instead of breaking it." Shane looked up from where he was staring at his hands or maybe at his injured foot.

"You won't know 'til you try but given the fact that Rick seems like the kind of person to cling to those who he treasures I believe you'll be okay."

Shane's eyes widened and Harry sighed for the reason that Shane reckoned he was being subtle with who he was speaking about. The man was as subtle as a moose and squirrel driving a 1967 Chevy Impala.

"If it were me I would be so very terrified but at the same time if I knew it could fix everything I would try my fucking hardest to make sure I did. Screw anyone who gets in my way."

Adam's apple bobbing he gave a jerky nod as he stood up, the crutches going under his armpits and Harry watched him hobble away just as he came.

 **.**

 **H.D**

 **.**

Rick was unsure how to proceed with a man like Hershel, not that he was particularly difficult to understand but more so the fact that he owed the man everything including his son's life and the group's safety. So to try and persuade the man to allow their stay to be extended permanently was going to be harder than he thought it would have been.

His group wanted to to stay and to be honest he did too. He could see himself growing comfortable on the farm, could see Carl growing up there and living a semi normal life without the danger of the outside world. They could expand the plot and grow fields to keep them sustained as well as building a wall to keep the walkers out.

It would be a haven, one that he could envision and almost taste. One that he needed to convince Hershel about before some of the group decided to use other methods.

He wasn't afraid that Merle or Shane would try something but more so Harry, because for all the good that was in the man during those first couple of months where it had been just him and Rick, it had been the doctor to open his eyes to the world.

Harry was someone he would trust his son's life with should anything happen to him, but Harry was also a bit cold when it came to survival and Rick was sure - no almost positive that should he not provide results Daryl or Merle would happily place a bullet in Hershel's head for the man. If Harry himself didn't do it first.

The people of the world would now do anything for a semblance of normalcy, for food and water and shelter, and the Greene Farm had it all. During their travelling from the hospital towards the city they had encountered a few desperate people, had been held up at gunpoint and told to give all of their belongings.

Rick had tried to talk his way out of it, had tried to persuade them that this wasn't the way to do things. Harry had just told him to hush and before he could stop him he threw the bag of canned foods on the ground, a can of baked beans rolling out. The two men and women scrambled after the food, guns forgotten in the face of food and Rick had been ready to run.

Only Harry wasn't and Rick had stared in an almost daze as the man who saved him and nursed him back to health took his gun from his belt and pointed it at the three distracted people. A part of him had wanted to warn them, to say something to Harry to spare their lives but another part of him recognised just what was being done. It was a kill or be killed world now and those people had been ready to kill them.

Three gunshots later - two had died with their brains splattered to the pavement and one had a shattered knee cap, the man screaming as he clutched it. Rick had watched as Harry calmly replaced the items in the bag, stepping around the mess of human brains and blood then quirked a smile at Rick.

" _Are you coming?'_ "

Hours later Harry and him had rested inside of a small office building and before he could let his freak out at witnessing people being killed Harry snapped his fingers.

" _This isn't Kansas anymore Rick. You aren't Dorothy and I sure as hell ain't Toto. People will take what's yours even if it means they kill you, so you got a choice to make. Protect what's yours so you can see your boy again, or kneel over. It's that simple."_

And it really was.

"Hershel!"

He jogged a bit to catch up to the old man who was holding two dog catcher's rod, Rick eyed the pole but ignored it, the man was entitled to any peculiarities he may have.

"Can we discuss something sir? Something that I know we agreed upon but I think it would be in your best interests to agree as well."

Hershel eyed him silently, blue eyes boring into his before he held out a rod to Rick who took it with a raised brow.

"We're catching animals?"

Hershel turned around and continued his way towards the forest without a word and Rick was forced to follow.

He didn't know what he expected from going into a forest with a dog catcher's pole but it was everything other than this. Staring at the two trapped walkers, gun held at his side as he watched the old vet drag one by its neck out of the mud where it was trapped.

"I don't understand." Hershel snorted and motioned to the other one. "It's not for you to understand, it's for you to do."

Looping the wire around the decaying man's head he pulled, grunting at the effort it took to dislodge the dead from the mud that was like glue but soon enough they both had a snarling undead on the end of their leash, the man and woman each trying to grab at them with blackened fingers.

"What you need to understand Rick is that the methods you use on these folks need to stop. There will be no killing on my property."

Rick frowned "These aren't people Hershel."

"Says who? You? Your group?"

"Says the people they have killed and will kill. Humans don't eat other people Hershel, whatever you think is happening to them it isn't. If you place anything with a heartbeat in front of them they will kill it without a thought."

The older man gave a him a humored smile and began to lead the snarling woman back the way they came and Rick had no choice but to follow.

"You and your friend seem to have many ideas on what I'm thinking."

"My friend?"

"The pregnant one. Harry was it? Back when I was a boy the idea of a man being pregnant was the closest thing to blasphemy and but God willed it and it is. The same way God made these people like this, the punished, the forsaken. It's our duty to help them find their way back to the path He intended for them."

"You can't compare the gift of life to the decay that they are."

"And I'm not, all I'm saying is that both hands are from God. We help bring life into the world and we should also help preserve it. When the time comes and He decides they have learned their lesson, have deemed them worthy of this world again God will sent them free from the shackles he's places upon them, and until he does so it's our duty to help them."

Rick paused and if not for the tugging on the other end of the pole he would have let it go. "This isn't a plague Hershel. This isn't a test that'll end and everyone turned into these things won't return back to human. This isn't how it works."

"Says who?! As a man of God I have to believe, to believe that he has a purpose for this darkness that's surrounding us and I will do right by His judgement."

"Whoever you lost won't come back from this Hershel. We've been to the CDC, seen charts and had the - the virus explained to us. It eats away at everything that makes them human, kills the person they once were before it reanimates them only leaving the need to move and kill intact. There's no going back from this Hershel, there's no silver lining for anyone who's been turned, only death for them or death for us."

"It's not up to you to play God son, it's not up to you to decide who lives or dies."

"I'm not. I'm just following the road map that I've been given. Our group was larger than this, we lost good people back at the Quarry. A fellow named Jim who had lost a wife and children and suffered the same fate, a young lady named Amy who was about your youngest age. She didn't die immediately, Harry removed the arm she was bitten on but we lacked the medical supplies to heal her properly. It eats away at you from the inside. Fever, delusions and then death."

Hershel was silent and the older man who had stopped walking carried on, Rick following.

"And I reckon that deep down you know there's no hope for them."

"Do you now."

"I do. Whoever it is that you lost are in that barn. Friends, family, neighbors. They'll remain as they are, decaying as any corpse does."

"And what would you have me do Rick. Let you all shoot them in the head like a stuck pig? As if they didn't matter to me? My step son and _wife_ are in there. Farm hands who I have known before my own children. And you want me to put them down just like that? Without mercy? My own wife and son?"

Rick shook his head "No, I want you to give them peace. They deserve that much don't they?"

The man remained silent for the duration of trip back to the barn, Rick holding both poles as Hershel unlocked the doors and they both shoved the rotting pair inside. "This your opening speech to ask me to allow you all to stay on my farm?" tugging the lock Hershel eyed Rick who swallowed but nodded.

"Not much of a speech sir, but it's the truth."

"And why should I allow you to when I've given you all ample time. The original deal was to when your boy found his feet again and I extended it for that scientific friend of yours. Now you want me to tell you to stay on my farm, to disrupt my rules and take over."

Rick shook his head again "Not take over sir. This farm is yours without question and you have no idea just how grateful we all are, but people aren't like us. Some will come and they will take without consideration. They will kill without question and as much as you are firm in your belief I know you love your daughters a great deal more."

Hershel waved his hand as if dismissing the idea "My farm is isolated."

"And the city is running out of fresh meat. If the dead are moving then so will the living. Even before we left the quarry they were already travelling in hordes out of the city and no doubt humans were as well. Eventually others will find your farm Hershel and I promise you they won't think twice about killing you and yours just so they would own it."

"My daughters are safe. Imagining dangers won't make me reconsider my decision son."

Rick nodded. It made no sense trying to push the man anymore than he did, he got his point across and there was still time before their eviction notice ran true. "This isn't Kansas anymore Hershel. You aren't Dorothy and I sure as hell ain't Toto. We're your best choice at survival in the long run and you know this. Protecting what's yours doesn't have to mean losing all control if that's what you're worried about. We'll respect your rules just as we would want you to respect us. Simple as that."

He pat Hershel on the shoulder and left the older man alone to his thoughts, washing his hands he leaned against the porch's railing, Harry sitting the closest to him among the gathered women and Glenn who was doing very little to hide his besotted expression in the face of Maggie. Glancing at his friend who was already staring at him, green eyes amused as he sipped at what looked like to be lemonade, his other hand holding out a glass to Rick who took it with thanks.

"I take it he didn't agree." Sipping at the cool and sweet liquid he savoured the taste "Not yet." he murmured and the women minus his wife, Andrea and Beth laughed at something that seemed to be at Glenn's expense.

"We still have time to change his mind. Beth is with Carl playing Go Fish. He has your luck being none at all with gambling."

Harry smirked at him and Rick rolled his eyes before heading off to see his son who was giggling madly with Beth, his expression joyful and Rick wanted to preserve that. Fuck it all. This wasn't Kansas anymore and he wasn't Toto.

…

 **H.D**

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 **A/n:** I'm thinking about writing a **Marvel: The Punisher** \+ **Harry Potter** crossover, but that fandom seems to be pretty dead so I dunno. As always thank you for the reviews, favs and follows. I need a beta.


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